My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!
by Sora 101
Summary: AU-Fiction. Izuku holds both All for One, and One for All. Yet despite his incredible potential, he has work twice as hard to make both quirks his own power. Not to mention the troubles and challenges he must face with his new quirks— "You copied All Might's power! That was his quirk you've used to toss that damn ball! Isn't that right, Deku?"
1. Chapter 1 - Pilot

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **This is an Alternate Universe-fiction where Izuku holds both "One for All" and "All for One" as quirks. This pilot will show the concept of how Izuku makes All for One work. The following scenes are purely fictional and aren't in the manga or anime.**

 **I hope you enjoy this story! If you do, read the very bottom for some important info!**

* * *

Chapter One – Pilot

 _My name… is Izuku Midoriya, and my dream is to be a superhero!_

 _I want to be somebody for people to rely on, to look up to, and to believe in, just like who All Might is to me. But to do that, I need a quirk, or rather, an amazing ability that'd bring my dreams to life._

 _Super strength, super speed, hardening, telekinesis… the abilities that have appeared in our world were endless—_

Fire, lots of fire. If there was one thing Izuku Midoriya could note from the scene, it was the intense heat that burned the area. Pure, blinding red and orange glowed through the night sky. He wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the area crumbled and burned down before the sun rose.

 _My world came shattering to the ground when the Doctor told me I was quirkless._

 _My dreams were crushed, and I couldn't find anyone, not even my own mother, to bring me the support I need, the words I desperately needed to hear to save my passion, before it was lost: "You can become a hero— "_

He held his ground in an alleyway located from a branching city, miles from Hosu City. His outfit once again ripped open despite the upgrades he and Mei Hatsume worked on.

Sweat dribbled from his skin, battling the heat as he struggled to remain calm and focused.

 _It took years of resentment, from my peers and grown-ups, to keep this dream from fading. Thinking about it now, I'd like to believe that I'm just very lucky to be honest._

 _Had I not met All Might, taken his training, and finally received his power, 'One for All'—_

Calm. That was a joke and he knew it. Really, he was terrified. His mind running a thousand miles an hour. After all, he knew who was after him. Him and—

 _I wouldn't have my very own quirk appear in the first place._

 _It was going to be hard, but I was very happy nonetheless. After all, my dream, of becoming the Greatest Hero, was slowly starting to become a reality._

* * *

" _Deku! Get back here and face me, you goddamn_ _ **copycat**_ _!"_

* * *

Flakes of fire blew in the wind, but that wasn't enough to distract Tomura Shigaraki from his mission. He stood on top of debris of a once standing building, long since evacuated. Truth be told, he was mad, if the constant scratching on the underside of his neck was any indicator.

"Izuku… Midoriya…" He whispered hoarsely, his neck slowly turning red from the constant scratching, as his shoulders starting shaking,

"You damn brat… You damn cheater! Can't even stand to face me. Stealing the bait and making a break for it…" His scratching stopped, "I'll break him."

"Tomura," Kurogiri, coming through his own warp gate, phased next to the man in question, arms firmly behind his back, "Perhaps it'd be wiser to return back to base. Other heroes are making their way to this location as we speak."

"Tsk." If it wasn't fast enough, Tomura scratched his neck even faster, before finally blowing a fuse, "Noumu!"

On cue, three 'Noumu' of different shapes and sizes appeared. Some with wings, others with elongated arms. But one that stood out was an incredibly buff, all black Noumu that stood like an ape: Almost like the same Noumu that attacked USJ before.

Tomura pointed towards the streets, "Enough games. Find them." Instantly, they launched out

"Tomura, I insist that we head back. Going so far just for a kid is ridiculous." Tomura turned his body slightly towards Kurogiri, "Any further and we will really risk exposure— "

"Kurogiri, if you don't stop nagging, I will kill you on the spot." Tomura's intense glare held no room for argument. Kurogiri stood tense as Tomura pulled out two pictures, one of Izuku Midoriya, and another of him and—

* * *

" _What are you talking about, Deku-kun? I think I quirk like that…_ _ **is super-amazing!"**_

* * *

"Hah… Hah…" A weak voice was next to Izuku, and he looked down grimly at the figure next to him, his head pounding.

"U-Uraraka-san… oh my God…"

Laid next to him… Was Ochako Uraraka, the girl that he's known since the first day at U.A High. Her hero outfit was battered and torn up, and her body was limp. However, the worst of her features was her arms, as patches of her skin… were decayed as muscle was shown.

Just looking at it made Izuku feel pure, cold rage towards his enemy, towards Tomura with his dreadful quirk. It wasn't unheard of for a villain to capture somebody close to a hero, just to spite said hero. Still, it was rare and, especially for both Izuku and Uraraka who were still in U.A High, it was not expected.

Trying to kidnap Uraraka, just to send him a message, made him rivet with disgust. At the same time, an unbridled amount of fear rose within him. Will Tomura do it again? And with whom? Another one of his classmates? Him mom, of all people, could be the next target.

"De… ku…"

"Ah!" Izuku let out a sharp gasp. Was he mumbling again? Now was not the time! He moved immediately to her side as she tried regaining consciousness, "Uraraka-san, please don't move too much, you're— "

"You really came for me… huh? That's… good." Ochako started to speak, and Izuku immediately cut his words short, "Even though I told you, that it was a trap… You really are… stubborn, sometimes…" her body tensed as another wave of pain came over her.

"Th-That's… Of course, I'd come back for you! There's no way I would just sit around and— "Ochako's eyes started watering up, as she looked away.

"You've already done so much for me Deku…" her eyes closed, as feint memories arose: The Entrance exam, battle training, and his support during the tournament being prime examples.

"But," Ochako shook her head, "This time, you should've let the pros handle saving me…" she lightly glared at him, choking any words that Izuku might've had to say, "If this keeps up, you're… really going to get yourself killed!" Uraraka stiffened after saying this, almost out of regret.

Izuku froze up. While she wasn't wrong, this wasn't like Uraraka. She was never this pessimistic, or at least, never in front of him. He would love to blame Tomura for it, but he was smarter than that.

"Uraraka— "Izuku tried to speak, but Uraraka shook her head.

"No, don't apologize, I… I'm sorry. That didn't… come out the way I wanted it to." Izuku blinked at her change of tone, "Now come on, we have to find a way to—Ghh!"

Izuku immediately snapped out of it, and held Uraraka down, "W-wait, hold on! You're wounds, they're…"

"Ah… that's right," Uraraka winced, passing a glance at her damaged arms, "I really… can't move like this… Deku. Heh… Heheh…"

"I… figured" Looking down at the injuries themselves, his mind rattled once more, 'At any rate, the villains will reach this spot and catch us. I could carry her, but I'll risk injuring her if I use **One for All** …' After saying One for All, almost instinctively his mind rested on his other quirk:

 **All for One.**

* * *

" _Uraraka-san, please! Teach me_ _ **how your quirk works**_ _!"_

* * *

"Young man," Yagi Toshinori, or rather well-known as 'All Might' began, "I was hoping to talk to you about this at some other point of time, perhaps when you held a better grip at using One for All… but seeing your new… quirk in development, that is a route I simply cannot take."

"Wh-What are you talking about, All Might?..." Izuku spoke with a baited breath, unnerved with how serious his tone is.

"Your new quirk… It already has a name: All for One. It's a quirk that gives you control over other quirks. Once you claim somebody else's quirk, that quirk is yours to keep. No strings attached. Or, at least, as far as I know" Despite how powerful this quirk sounded, Izuku couldn't help but feel uneasy with All Might's conviction.

"That's amazing, b-but," Izuku carefully tried to word what he was going to say next, "How do you already know about this quirk? D-does somebody have it as well? Who?"

'Izuku Midoriya, you're cunning once again surprises me…' "I'll be frank, Midoriya. Your quirk… is the same as my Arch-Nemesis, the Anti-Symbol of Peace." Izuku's eyes slowly widened at the news, as Yagi continues,

"He refers to himself by the name of the quirk, All for One. He is… an incredibly powerful foe. He was the one who gave me," he pulled up his shirt, revealing his scar, "This nasty wound, right here." Yagi finished

Izuku reeled back at the revelation, and tensed at the implications, 'No way… then this quirk… is the same as All Might's sworn enemy?... To think I'd have a quirk like this suddenly appear— 'And then Izuku's eyes widened,

'Wait… does All Might… despise me now, because of this quirk?!' Izuku almost felt the need to jump out of his seat!

"A-All Might, I— " All Might suddenly held up a hand, cutting the boy's apology short.

"Midoriya-kun, I can already tell what you're going to say. I'll be clear to say that, despite this new quirk you have, my opinion of you has not changed!" All Might said proudly, and Izuku's faced turned into that of comedic shock.

'Di-Did All Might just read my mind!?' he exclaimed in his head, as Yagi continued.

"Indeed, with this new quirk, you will turn out to be quite the disciple! One for All's power will crystalize like no other! Hahaha—Bweh…" Yagi promptly puked out blood after his bellowed laughter, causing Izuku to panic.

"Still though, it's hard to believe how differently your quirk works compared to All for One's—Er," Yagi quickly noticed how difficult it'll be to keep referring his enemy by his quirk's name, "My Nemesis's quirk. Young Midoriya, care to explain to me again how your quirk activates?"

"O-Of course! Although it's, uh, a bit hard to word out. I'll try to explain the best I can!"

* * *

" _I feel like I'd just be taking everyone's individuality._ _ **Everyone will hate me…"**_

* * *

"Uraraka-san!" Izuku's tone had a bit of command into it, snapping Ochako into attention.

"Y-yeah!?" she immediately replied, and the tips of Izuku's ears started heating up.

"Do you… Do you trust me?!..." Izuku asked, and Ochako became confused.

"Deku, why are you asking that all of the sudden— "

"Because I will be using my quirk," his eyes shone with confidence, "To heal you back to health!"

"Eh?" Ochako became surprised at his statement, "Can you really…?" she began, but realizing there was no time for doubt, she shook her head.

Slowly, Ochako's face turned confident, with a light blush and a bold smile to boot, "I don't get it, but I trust you, Deku-kun. Please take care of me!

"R-right, I will!" Deku's face also turned red, but for different reasons.

"That's not true at all, Deku-kun! Don't you know how the saying goes? Something like, uh… Ah! ' **Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'** , right?"

One for All's power was personified by a single, glowing star, growing stronger with each passing holder, shining bright in a void of empty space.

All for One was like a vast galaxy of stars; dim and glowing in the distance, just ways away for one to simply reach and grab hold, only to individually shine bright with each quirk acquired.

Yagi turned surprised as Izuku explained, noticed the stark differences and parallels to how each variant of All for One worked. He began to wonder if the way his nemesis has acquired his powers (by forcibly removing their quirk, and with it, their strength) was just the easier route he took simply for being a villain. Or maybe Izuku just had his own way of acquiring quirks that didn't harm his peers in the slightest.

Izuku's way, however, was undoubtedly harder. The challenge, however, was much more fitting for somebody that was growing to be a great hero.

"So, um… the way my quirk works—Or, rather, the way I make it work, is like this." He brought out one of his notebooks, titled "Hero Analysis Vol. 13", one that was battered and burned by Bakugo back before he made it to U.A High,

"I've been writing books like these ever since I've wanted to be a hero—thanks to you I might add, All Might!"

The hero in question was simply unfazed, so Izuku continued, "A-Anyway, I've been writing about heroes for so long that I've almost memorized every page up to this point. And even now, I'm writing about my classmates and their quirks, their abilities, and I feel their potential just buzzing in my brain!"

"…I'm not sure this relates to how your quirk activates, Young Midoriya…?" All Might begins to wonder if Izuku's beginning to mumble again at this point, and Izuku shakes his head.

"No no, I haven't got there yet! When my quirk activates, I just think about the page of the hero I want to be… and just rip the page right out of the book! —"

 ***rrrrRip!***

"Just like this?" Yagi tries to interpret what he's saying, but ends up ripping one of Izuku's pages in his notebook. Izuku's body shakes at the sound, and tears immediately form in his eyes.

"Aaaah! No, not physically! All Might!?" Izuku cries out, snapping his book back into his arms, and Yagi, realizing that he screwed up something fierce, starts sweating.

"Ah, crap, my bad, my bad! I'm really sorry, Midoriya-kun!" All Might furiously apologizes, before rubbing his neck, "Really, this quirk is incredibly important to understand, young man. Please understand how important this is."

"Right, I'm sorry!" In the end, it was Izuku that ended up apologizing, before he glances at the page that was ripped out. A smile ended up forming in his lips, "…this'll be perfect." Izuku showed the page to All Might, "All Might, can you see who this is?"

"Hm?" Yagi glanced at the page, and noticed the figure's angry expression, and the way the costume seemed to explode in different directions. Ah, explode huh? "This is… Katsuki Bakugo… san, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right. This is Kacchan. He and I were childhood friends for the longest time." Izuku twiddled with his thumbs, as the page rested on his knee, "I've followed him ever since we met, and he ended up with such an awesome quirk. I couldn't help but be awestruck at his ability… so I memorized his ability, and wrote it down: wrote down the applications, the raw power it could bring, the source of where it comes from… so on and so on…"

Izuku then held out his arm, "And thanks to that…"

Izuku's hand started crackling, as small explosions harmlessly lifted off his palm, "I have an easier time using Kacchan's **Explosion** quirk, more than anyone else's quirk I believe…"

"Oh!" Yagi marveled at the display of the quirk that didn't belong to Izuku, before looking up, "Why don't you use it more often, if it's so easy to use?"

"It's…" Izuku's expression turned grim, "A long story…"

He shook his head, "But anyway, like I said before, I just rip the page of the book—I-inside my head, I mean! Then the quirk will appear! There's a few more complications after that… but that's the just of how All for One works for me. Heh heh…"

Stressing one part of his statement, he wraps up with an awkward laugh as Yagi processes all this info.

* * *

"You've done so much for me, Uraraka-san. At least… let me **repay the favor**!"

* * *

Briefly, an Image of Recovery Girl passed Izuku's thoughts, as the page he held for her inside 'Hero Analysis Vol. 13' came into his mind, with her quirk and all its features.

Grabbing hold of Uraraka's shoulders, he brought her up into a sitting position, despite her protests or her condition.

"Deku? What're you— "Wordlessly, he moved closer toward Uraraka, or rather, leaned closer toward her face. Their noses briefly touched, before—

Izuku kissed Ochako, on the lips.

For a moment, Izuku stayed there, as the soft crackle of fire was the only sound both heard. Ochako's eyes were wide in shock, her mind unable to think, let alone back out of the situation.

After what felt like forever, Izuku pulled away, and noticed the green aura around his partner, her wounds healing quickly. He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

"De— "his eyes opened, as he glanced at a blushing, almost furious Ochako who which trembled ever so slightly, "De… Dekuuuuu~!"

Only then did he realize his actions… He KISSED Ochako!

"I-I-I-It's not—I mean, it's not what it looks like Uraraka-san. I didn't K-K-Kiss you for no reason! —"

"That was my f-f-first kiss, Deku! You big idiot!" Ochako was blushing mad at this point and only then did Izuku realize his awful sin.

"Ueh!? I'm sorry! Terribly sorry! Terribly, utterly sorry!" Deku apologized profusely, bowing every time, "It was the only way I could heal you! Please forgive me!"

"Deku, you'd better… wait, heal?" Ochako passed a glance at herself to find out that, indeed, her wounds have healed, "Wait, so that was…"

"Recovery Girl's quirk, yes…" Izuku muttered, still blushing over the incident, "It was the only quirk I could think of, that could heal you in a short instant. I could've kissed your wounds, but I didn't want to risk not healing them and only causing you more pain. Recovery Girl mentioned that kissing the person on the lips would have the same effect as kissing the entire body— "

Before Izuku could go back to mumble-mode, he snapped out of it, and bowed on more time. "I meant nothing ill towards you, Uraraka-san! honest!"

"Deku-kun, that's… amazing!" Deku stammered from the total 180 Ochako has made.

"W-Wait, really!?" Deku was taken aback from the sudden praise.

"Yeah! You could really save a lot of people using that quirk too!" Uraraka went back to her cheering self, and Deku immediately hid from embarrassment, "Just don't kiss everyone on the lips, yeah?"

"U-Uraraka-san!?" Deku cried out… but immediately went quiet and still when he heard the sound of flapping wings.

Ochako also took notice of Izuku's sudden behavior change, "De— ""Shh!" She quickly held her breath per Izuku's request, only to hear the sound herself.

* _flap_ , flap, Flap, **Flap** …*

"Get ready…!" Izuku whispered roughly, and both of them stood up, getting into fighting poses.

 ***Flap Flap Flap FLAP!...***

"…!?" Izuku took the surroundings… before looking up—

* * *

"Okay! You've convinced me, Deku-kun. **Teach me how to improve my quirk!** Please!"

* * *

"Seriously," Once again Tomura was found scratching his neck, "Damn near-useless party members, shouldn't one of them have found the brats already?"

Before Kurogiri could say anything, his instincts suddenly started screaming for him to move and, without thinking, he phased him and Tomura away from the debris they were standing on, right before—

 **"SMASH!"** Izuku leveled the ground with a super-sized punch, leaving a crater behind.

"I had a feeling you'd show up sooner or later…" Tomura began, before glaring hard at the newcomer, "You damn All Might _wannabe!"_

Izuku stepped out of the crater, calmly assessing his opponents, before a soft thump landed next to him.

Tomura looked shocked, "You… but how? Those debuffs should've never worn off!" Izuku smiled, knowing who was next to him.

"Would you like to know, huh?" Ochako exclaimed loudly, before moving her arms _together in a motion Tomura didn't recognize from the tournament footage_ , "Release!"

Tomura immediately braced for—A large car slammed towards his side in an astounding speed, something which he was not prepared for as he flew towards a neighboring wall.

"THAT was for turning my arms into a horror movie, you damn brute!" Ochako spoke afterwards, before preparing into a fight stance, "Get ready Deku… I think I've really crossed the line this time!"

"Right!" Deku simply spoke, but his mind was focused on keeping Ochako safe at all times. These two villains, while nothing like Stain in terms of Killer's Intent, still held up as villain's. He had to be absolutely careful, else they fall into a trap and risk—

The sound of metal crumbling apart distracted his thought process, as the car that entrapped Tomura began rusting and, eventually, decayed on the spot. Slowly, Tomura was in view once more.

"You damn kids… I'm going to enjoy this…" Tomura walked over the decayed mess, one of his arms limp and lifeless as he walked to Kurogiri's side once more, strangely silent over the whole ordeal.

"Noumu!" He finally spoke, and both heroes tensed at the name. _Two_ masses appeared, and Izuku immediately assessed their looks and strengths—

Only to rest his eyes on one of the Noumus that looked exactly like the one at the USJ, a sharp chill ran up his spine "That one… looks like the one All Might fought back at the USJ! We need to— "

"Hey, Deku-kun?" Izuku immediately looked at Ochako, at his nickname being called.

"Wh-what is it?" Izuku nervously replied, tense at the situation.

"Damn it… only two are here?..." Tomura started scratching his neck with the arm that he had still functioning, "I'll kill you both, I swear it. You won't leave here alive."

"Think we can do the 'thing' we've been practicing on for a while now?" she asked, and Izuku's mind wondered what she meant, only for a little bit, until he snapped in realization.

"Yeah… Yeah! Let's do it, Uraraka-san!" Izuku, with rekindled confidence, shared a battered smile with the girl.

"I like the enthusiasm! Get ready!" Ochako held her arms out, and so did Izuku.

"Damn mindless mobs won't stop talking! Noumu, kill them!" Tomura gave the order, and both Noumus launched.

 _Yagi could be seen, looking out the window after his conversation with Izuku. His mind was still thinking about the potential his disciple had as the Symbol of Peace, especially with the new quirk he had acquired, despite their initial interactions._

' _Young Midoriya… We haven't even begun your training as the Symbol of Peace, and I've already seen a bright future that rests with you. If anyone if this school deserves a quirk as powerful as yours, it's you.'_

'Okay, focus on the papercut, spread the feeling throughout my body…' She looked at herself, and grinned as her body turned light pink, as pink lines curled throughout her frame. 'This is it… right, Deku?'

' _Still, the road will be tough regardless. I pray the day when villains aim for you stays as far away as possible. Despite the ten months you took working to receive One for All, it will only get harder from here.'_

" **One for All: Full Cowling…!** " Izuku mumbled under his breath, and bites of electricity danced off his body, "Along with that… **Zero Gravity…!** " those strands of electricity became pink, as his body glowed a pinkish hue as well.

' _But… I have no doubt that you will succeed in every endeavor you encounter. I hope, in your Hero Academia, you find the support you need, the strength to fight, and the drive to keep improving both of your powers. And I hope, that one day…'_

'It's ready!' "Let's do this Uraraka-san!"

' _You can show me what it means, to go…'_

"Improvised Special Move!" Both Izuku and Uraraka shouted out loud, **"Gravity Field!"**

' **Plus Ultra!'**

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Let me answer some of the questions you probably have.**

 **First, and Foremost,** **Deku will NOT be Overpowered** **. His strength compares to the Izuku in the show/manga, but only slightly better than that. It's subjective, really: He's not going to handle the entire League of Villains without breaking a sweat, but there will be scenes in the show/manga that will be made different thanks to this quirk.**

 **Second, this is not a powerful quirk from the get-go. Not to spoil anything, but limitations and hurdles that Deku will need to jump will be made clear from the first few chapters.**

 **Third, other characters can and will improve thanks to Deku's quirk. Thus, some 'creative' liberties as far as quirks go will be made. Y'know, if this chapter hasn't shown that already.**

 **Finally, and I repeat like above, I you want a story like this to continue,** **PLEASE review and favorite to show your support.** **It'll mean very much to me to hear your guys voices and expectations.**

 **Thank you for your time guys! See you in the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Update 1 – 9/3/19 – Spacing, Grammar, and Spelling Corrections**


	2. Chapter 2 - Crossing the Line (Part One)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **I'm speechless, guys. 18 reviews, 50+ favorites and follows, and over 1000 views one Chapter One, Alone! I can see your guys' demand for a story like this! So, what else can I do, except keep writing this bad boy!**

 **Important info as well as review responses down below. If you want to support this story, review, favorite and follow!**

 **Please enjoy the next chapter of "My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!"**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Crossing the Line (Part One)

' _It's hard to imagine how much of a change I've been through; Meeting All Might, taking on his 10-month All-American Training Plan, and then finally inheriting his quirk… It really shines in comparison to the rest of life before now._

 _My whole life I've been told that I as quirkless; That I was a loser, a nobody, a wannabe hero. But above all else, the nickname that Kacchan gave me, "Deku", seemed to have stung the most.'_

"Woah, Kacchan! I didn't know you can read?" One of Kacchan's random buddies exclaimed.

"Sure, I can! And you know what this says," Kacchan replied, pointing at the bucket labeled for Izuku Midoriya, "It says Izuku's full name, but the very first letter can be shortened to 'Deku'"

With a shit-eating grin, he looked over to Izuku, who which had a smile of admiration towards Katsuki, "And 'Deku' is also another way of saying 'Useless'!"

Surprised at the sudden jab, Izuku lowered his head, "H-hey, that's pretty mean, Kacchan."

"What? It's in your name, so it has to be true!" Katsuki pushed anyway, rallying the rest of his buddies to do so as well.

"Yeah, Kacchan's right, Deku. Since when is he ever wrong?" One of them said.

"B-but! —" Izuku motioned for them to stop.

"Yeah, what he said! What's wrong, Deku, can't handle the truth!?" another one of the kids laughed, and in turn they all laughed, making Izuku feel worse about himself.

* * *

"Alright class, can anyone come up and read the next sentence?" A nameless teacher taught our class, as she looked over to Katsuki, "Ah! Kacchan, would you do the honor?"

At first, he huffed and got up, but then heard the excited whispers of the other kids.

"Oh boy, Kacchan's going to read the next part of the story!"

"Gosh, Kacchan's amazing! I'll just embarrass myself if I go up there…"

"Way to go Kacchan!"

'Kacchan' had a tick-mark growing on the side of his head, before grinning, "Sure thing teach! But ...call me Katsuki from now on, k'? The word 'Kacchan' is…" Turning to the class, his voice got louder, "Getting on my nerves!" he exclaimed

Even if he was only six, and had the ferocious-ness of an angry Chihuahua, his words rang crystal clear to the other kids: Call him Kacchan one more time, and face the wrath of the exploding boy.

"O-Of course, Katsuki-chan. And please, use your inside voice from now on, okay?"

"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue with dissatisfaction when he heard 'Katsuki-chan'. Regardless, he made his way to the board as the kids watched him. However, Izuku had conflicted feelings about the matter.

' _Kacchan is what I called him when we were first friends, before the quirks and the peers showed up. We hung out with each other, just us two. We'd always explore our neighborhood, challenge each other by playing 'Heroes and Villains' with our toys, came home late together… We had amazing times together before school started. At least, that's what I liked to believe._

 _If I gave up that name now, I'd lose the only real connection to the Katsuki Bakugo I knew in my early years:_

 _My best friend, Kacchan…'_

* * *

"Darn it Deku, this is the last time I'm gonna say this!" Katsuki roared, his small hand crackling with explosions as he looked down at Izuku. Izuku, himself, was scratched up and charred from the quirk, but his face still looked determined, even though tears were running down his face by-the-gallon.

They were at a secluded part of the school playground, where teachers would have to walk out to see properly. This was the spot Katsuki decided to bring Izuku over to after saying 'Kacchan' in public, despite Katsuki's declaration in class. The rest of the kids listening froze and reacted as if Deku said a bad word.

"Did'ya hear that! He said the 'K' word again!"

"Oh no, Deku's gonna be in so much trouble…!"

… which, from one's perspective, didn't seem to be too far from the truth.

Back in the corner, Katsuki grinded his teeth, "Do NOT call me Kacchan again! You hear me! I'll make you regret it!" he made his threat clear.

"N-No! I-I don't wanna!"

' _I could remember how I felt that day: Both scared, and determined. My legs were shaking, and I was terrified of what was coming next, but this was the one thing I absolutely could not lose. Less I want to break the very hope of my childhood friend returning.'_

"That's IT! Prepare to be cooked, Dekuuuu!" he reached out for Izuku, and the boy backed away to a tree as he approached, until—

"Katsuki Bakugo!" another teacher yelled out, freezing the hotheaded boy before he could attempt to 'get' Deku, "What is the meaning of this!? Bullying young Midoriya on school grounds!?"

"T-teach!" Katsuki exclaimed, but the teacher was having none of it.

"Go to the principal's office, young man! Now!" Katsuki glared at Izuku, while said 'useless' boy was crying tears of joy. Katsuki huffed, before started walking toward the school.

"And you, young Midoriya!" The crying boy froze up as the teacher looked at him, "I suggest that whatever you did to anger Katsuki, you don't do it again! You should know better than this young man!"

"Y-Y-Yes, I will!" Izuku said that, knowing full well that he was lying, still determined on not giving his friend's nickname up.

The teacher nodded, before heading back inside the building, as Izuku looked down to the ground, preparing for what was going to come after school—after Katsuki got out of trouble.

' _Oddly enough, Kacchan never came back to hurt me for getting him in trouble like that. Even afterwards, when I continued using his nickname, he threatened me like usual, but never got to the point like before where he'd hurt me._

 _A few months later, when everyone else would say Katsuki to call him, I would say Kacchan, and he would be indifferent. A few kids would be confused at this, usually the other kids close to Katsuki—heck, even I was a little confused at how nonchalant he was._

 _If anyone asked, though, he would simply reply, "None of your business." usually followed by some knockoff nickname based on the kid's quirk, and that would be that._

 _I would consider that to be my very first 'victory' towards Katsuki Bakugo. He's won plenty of times over me on other things, but to call Katsuki 'Kacchan' was something I'm not going to lose sight over. He could call me useless "Deku" all he wanted. I've won this. And I was going to make use of it._

 _But after years, and years, of saying the nicknames back and forth, 'Deku, Kacchan, Deku, Kacchan', it sort of became second nature to us. Or, once again, at least to me._

 _Never have we used each other's real names, and it's been so long since I've heard my real name come out of my childhood friends mouth—_

" **I—! ! ! !"** My eyes widened immediately, my back went straight, and my hairs stood up out of my skin, when I heard that voice,

 _So if, and this is a BIG if, knowing Kacchan's pride, but… if he ever used my full name… well…_

" **ZU—! ! ! !"** My head slowly turned behind me, as I processed the voice, but my mind kept denying it, 'No, it's not him, it's not him, he would never! —'

 _It'd be so out of place, so out of his character… just completely… Jarring…_

" **KUUU! ! ! !"** And yet, there he was, the person he would've never, ever, imagined saying my real name in public: Katsuki Bakugo.

And he. Looked. _Pissed_.

 _That'd it would catch me off guard, to say the least… Heh…_

* * *

"K-K-Ka… Ka- Kaccha—" before Izuku could even say his name correctly, Bakugo went and grabbed hold of his collar, and dragged him to the nearest alleyway. Izuku began tripping along the way, but he made no motion to stop him.

After that was done, Bakugo slammed Izuku to the brick wall, making said victim wince immediately after, "Augh! K-Kacchan what the heck are you— "

"Don't you DARE call me that after what you've done, Izuku…" There it was; He said his real name again. And it did not help that he hissed out the name like the heat of a broken lava lamp. A cold shock went up Izuku's spine, as he recognized just what kind of trouble he got himself into.

"Wh-what do you mean—I-I didn't do anything, Kacchan, I swear! —"

"Don't you even think about bullshitting yourself out of this one, Izuku!" Katsuki roared, part of his sentence sounding like a broken record, as small crackles of his quirk showed up in his other arm, before he quickly suppressed it.

Izuku could tell he was itching, scratching to use his quirk on him. But for some reason, he didn't. While a huge part of Izuku was terrified, a very tiny part of him was curious, and confused, as to why he wouldn't use it straight away. Whenever Kacchan was even the slightest bit mad at him, he'd go ballistic with his quirk…

Today was no exception: Katsuki was livid, furious with him, and yet he was holding his quirk back.

"How long?..." Kacchan began, bringing even more confusion to Izuku,

"How long have you been lying to me, Izuku?!…" Red, tiny, heated orbs stared back into his green ones, fury encompassed between them,

"How long have you been lying about not have a Quirk, Izuku!? And why the hell is it _**MY QUIRK!?"**_

And that was when Bakugo's free hand began exploding, but somehow Izuku noticed that they were out of his control: His entire arm was exploding almost, as if his arm was breaking out in a fury-covered sweat. Looking back at Kacchan, Izuku immediately gulped his throat and made it clear.

Izuku was prepared for something like this, despite praying to every God in the Universe that it would never arrive, and yet despite that, it still happened. But Izuku prepared an answer. He had to make it clear and straightforward, he couldn't afford not to mess it up, less he faced Katsuki's wrath.

"I-I have—" Izuku cleared his throat, "I have a quirk… that lets me use others' quirks, so long as I know about them well enough, Kacchan!

"And your quirk—!" he glared back into Katsuki's eyes, making the hothead reel back "Is the one that I know the best! I did what I could do— what I NEED to do, to pass the Entrance Exam!"

Izuku's eyes began tearing up, as his glare softened to nothing, "Because of your quirk, I did pass! It was thanks to you! S-So… thank you! Thank you so very much, Kacchan!"

There, he said it, got it out of his chest, and boy, did it feel good. A slight smile appeared in Izuku's face, despite the worried look that covered the rest of it.

Then, anxiety filled him, as the boy holding him hostage began trembling, his muscles tensing.

"So… you're telling me, that all this time… You bugged me to tag along… was so that you could copy my quirk...?" Izuku's face faulted, as denial filled his being.

"Wait—What—NO! No, no, it's not like that Kaccha—" His mind was sending out strong warning signals and he immediately ducked under an outstretched hand that exploded right above him. Izuku's eyes went miniscule at the sight of Katsuki's face.

Pure, unadulterated rage was expressed from Katsuki, as he stared Izuku, dead in the eye, "Deku…" Despite the situation he was in, Deku felt a tiny bead of joy being called his degrading nickname again,

"I'm **really** going to kill you now."

That bead of joy was smashed to _oblivion_ , as cold, cold eyes looked towards Izuku when he said that.

Deku immediately grabbed Katsuki's strong arm, and used his own elbow against it. As a result, Katsuki reeled back his arm, incredibly bruised from said attack, finding it completely unexpected from the green boy, "Gah! You sonuva— "

Looking up only to see the brick wall staring back at him, he looked towards the exit to see Deku making a mad break towards it, then making a hard right, "Wha— Damn it Deku!"

Izuku started sprinting at his fastest, his mind giving no exceptions. That look, the one Katsuki gave, was one that screamed pain and wrath. He knew, especially being secluded in an alleyway like that, he was going to put his body in danger. While Katsuki bullied and pummeled him before, that time was different, completely and utterly different, and he could not afford to take chances with the devil named Katsuki Bakugo.

The look he gave, this look of completely engrossed anger, had no sight of his childhood friend anywhere.

There wasn't a slight bit of 'Kacchan' in those eyes.

He was a completely different person, focused entirely on ruining him. And Izuku couldn't afford to take the chance of waiting it out, just to see if he would return to the usual 'Kacchan'.

It seems…

" **Deku!"** Katsuki cried out in rage, catching any of the bystanders' attention, as Deku shut his eyes to the stop the tears running down his face **, "Get back here and face me, you goddamn copycat!"**

He really… crossed the line on their 'friendship', today.

* * *

 _A few days ago…_

* * *

It was the final day of training for Izuku, as well as the same day he would be taking the entrance exam for U.A High. Izuku could be found on the beach of Dagobah Municipal Park, stretching as he looked up the night sky, as the sun hasn't even arrived yet.

Izuku could see it, the homestretch was coming close. He was almost finished with the task he was sent to do by All Might ten months ago. After he was finished with this, he'd finally receive a quirk of his own, like he dreamed of for years!

His eyes crossed onto the rusted-up truck, the one that's patronized him during the entire length of his training, from start to the very end. 'After this,' Izuku thought, 'My training will be finished…!'

So then, he began marching, his muscles already strained from all the trash he previously lifted away before, but his mind was engrossed into moving the truck.

" _Sorry, kid, it isn't going to happen,"_ He remembered the doctor that diagnosed his quirklessness, as memories flooded Izuku's mind, setting off adrenaline receptors in his body, as he placed his hands on the back of the truck, _"With this extra pinkie-toe joint, you're simply not going to develop a quirk."_

" _I'm so sorry…! Izuku…!"_ His mother was crying, but even then, Izuku didn't stop. He started pushing, the truck dragging itself on the sandy beach causing added friction.

"Ghhh!" He pressed forward, firmly placing each step in the slippery sand, as he pushed the truck towards the stairs leading to the entrance.

" _Without a quirk?"_ All Might could be heard in his head, as he continued moving the car, _"Being a Pro Hero is risky business, kid. So, no; I don't think you can be a hero without a quirk."_

"C'mon! C'mooon!" Izuku hissed under his breath, as the car began seemingly dragging more of its weight down onto the floor. Despite this, Izuku kept pressing.

" _You're just a quirkless loser!" "A hero wannabe!" "Are you still thinking about applying to U.A!? Get real!" "You're much better off going to some other course! Without a quirk, you're nothing!"_

" _Just pray that you get a quirk in the next life, and take a swan dive out of the window!"_

*Tink!*

Izuku pressed the back of the truck firmly against the wall, and made his way to the front of it, looking up at the steps—before noticing his vision was blurry.

Izuku quickly wiped away the tears that seemed to crawl into his vision, probably from thinking about such painful memories.

Regardless, he found a good spot to hold onto the truck as he made his climb, starting with the first step!

" _Deku!? What the hell are you doing here!?" "I d-don't know! My legs—they've just started moving on its own!"_ The memory of Izuku 'saving' Katsuki from the sludge villain was first, the whole reason he was taking on this training in the first place.

" _Kacchan, I couldn't have just stood around and watch you die!"_

With each step, his triceps felt like bleeding and breaking, carrying the entire weight of the truck was a nightmare. The sounds escaping his voice sounded like gasps and cracks for air, but his face still held strong, as he made the next step.

" _Even though I said it myself, I wasn't following my own words! Pro Heroes always goes beyond their limits to protect those that need!"_ All Might yelled in his head, and Izuku felt the weight of the truck lessen from the adrenaline, the pain slowly diminishing.

" _Young Man… you, too, can become a hero!"_

"I can do this!" Izuku made step, after step, as the truck behind him made loud *Thump*ing noises behind him against the stairs, "I'm… almost there!"

" _ **HA HA HA!"**_

And, out of anything else he could remember, it was the video he had his mom play repeatedly, since his childhood,

" _ **AH HA HA HA HA!"**_

Before Izuku knew it, he was climbing his man-made trash pile with the car, imagining himself carrying as many people as All Might was in the video, _"Fear not, citizens! Help has arrived!"_

All Might's bright smile matched Izuku's heavily worn smile, as he reached the top of the pile, truck in hand, as he firmly placed it on top of all the trash, making a loud * **Thunk** *!

" _Because I am here!"_

Izuku snapped out of his daze when the sun began rising across the coastline, bringing a sudden brightness to the world that caught him off guard. As it rose, more of the beautiful, pristine beach that was once ruined by trash came into the light, it's previous beauty returned to it once more.

"I… did it…" Izuku whispered to himself softly, looking at the sight, the sound of the clear waters brushing past the beach, saying their own 'thanks' to the boy. "I… finished my training…!"

A sudden urge, straight from the very heart, began to quake under his skin: To scream, to shout, to finally rid of every doubt and fear in his body that was against his dream of becoming a hero. His body, shaking, unsure of whether to be angry at those that doubted him in the first place, or excited to see that he had the power to prove those that doubted him, wrong!

A faint sound of a door closing was behind him, but it wasn't enough to stop the rupture in his body from coming out—!

" **HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"** He screamed, but even then, it wasn't enough. The sun beating on his face, the winding blowing all the way up on top of this pile, the once-dark sky began turning blue.

It all asked for more!

" **HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGGHHHHHHH! ! ! !"** A yell, almost primal, escaped his lips as his whole body trembled, releasing all the stress he built up these last ten months, finally releasing at the feeling of finally accomplishing his goal.

Izuku was finished with his training: Dagobah Municipal Park was restored to its prime.

"Oh my…" At first, Izuku thought he heard All Might's voice, but with the ringing in his ears and in his head after screaming like that, he couldn't tell, "Oh my… **Goodness!"**

Oh yeah. Yep. That was indeed All Might. The very same person he was imagining in his head. This time he was here.

And here he thought he had to wait for him to arrive… that's a relief.

Before he knew it, Izuku's body started wobbling, as his legs finally ceased to function properly after the trial he put them through, as he fell towards the bright and sunny beach— not before All Might caught him before he could hit the ground.

All Might's beaming smile could be easily seen in Izuku's eyes, "Good work." He said firmly, and a smile made it on Izuku's face.

"I did it… All Might!" relief cracked the young boy's throat, his smile weak compared to the hero holding him, "I finally did it…!"

"Yeah! You surprised me, Young Man: You've done much better than I could ever hope to imagine!" Placing Izuku back on his two feet, he reached inside his coat pockets, and pulled out a smartphone, "Here! Take a look at this!"

Izuku looked to see… himself, crying up a storm as he tried to pull some piece of trash. A small laugh escaped his lips, finally understanding the meaning of those photos All Might took on his first few days training:

It wasn't some mean stunt, testing him to give up on the training entirely. It was those before and after shots that people, who were training to lose weight and gain some muscle, take at the very start of the journey.

"And look at you now!" Izuku looked up at All Might, his face screaming with pride, "You've made yourself into a work of art! There's a bunch more work ahead, but you're starting to look like the perfect vessel to become One for All's next wielder!"

Ah, right. The quirk, that he worked so hard to get. Now's the time he can finally receive it, right?

Somehow, a somber feeling welled inside Izuku as he thought of the times he was told quirkless, and how he thought that would never change. And yet, starting today, that would become a thing of the past.

"All Might… this is almost like a dream…" he whispered, as tears began welling up in his eyes, "I feel like… I'm the luckiest man alive right now, with you All Might…!"

'Man, the waterworks on this kid…! It's been you who did all the hard work, you know…!' All Might, if he wasn't so impressed with his work on the beach, would've been seriously impressed with how much muscle his tear ducts would have by now, crying so much.

"Alright, enough crying, Young Man! It's time for your reward!" Izuku looked up as All Might pulled a bit of his golden hair out, a single strand blowing in the wind, "Midoriya, there is a clear difference between being lucky and being deserving! One's an accident, and the other, a reward! _Never_ get the two mixed up, you understand!?"

"Puff out your chest, and be proud, Izuku Midoriya!" With All Might's words, a strong wave of determination filled Izuku's being, "You've earned my quirk fair and square! Now…"

Holding out that same strand of hair in front of Izuku, he continued, "Eat my hair!"

The atmosphere, the mood of pride and reward, was destroyed when he said that, as Izuku looked at him, incredibly confused, "…Huh?"

All Might, noticing the young man's shock, immediately stood straighter, "Y-you have to eat my hair in order to ingest my DNA, it's the only real way to acquire my quirk, and— Look, we don't have much time, Midoriya, your exam is in three hours, so we can't let this drag on much longer! Jut eat the hair so we can get a move on!"

"R-Right!" Not really thinking about it, he snatched the piece of hair and threw it in his mouth, before his mouth puckered fiercely, 'Sour! Why the heck is a piece of hair so sour!'

"Great job my boy! See, hair's not so bad, just an acquired taste! HA HA HA!" All Might laughed it off, and Izuku nodded, before firmly swallowing, trying his _damn hardest_ not to hurl it back out.

"Now listen, you've taken this quirk under a seriously short notice! I can't say you can use this quirk and come out without a scratch!" He turned around and made his way to the stairs, "So in the exams, be prepared for some kickback, okay!"

"R-Right, but—wait, how do I even use the quirk in the first place, All Might!?" Izuku cried out.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, silly me! It's quite simple, actually!" He flexed one of his arms, as he spoke, "When you're ready to use my quirk, clench your buttcheeks as tight as you can manage, and scream from the bottom of your heart, **'Smash!** '" All Might did not follow suit with one of his signature punches after saying that, to Izuku's slight disappointment, "It's as simple as that, actually!"

"Ah, I see... so just like that, I'll be able to—" Izuku immediately shook his head repeatedly, "I-I can't think about stuff like that right now! I need to head home and change, get a shower in, study for the exam that's in—Th-three hours!?"

And then, the realization that today was exam day finally struck Midoriya, as he was tearing up again, "A-All Might, the exam is in three hours! I don't think I can— "

"Have faith, young Midoriya!" He spoke proudly, halting Izuku's tears, "You've followed my training regime to a 'T'—well, besides you overworking yourself three months ago, but that's not the point here! I have no doubt that you will make it to U.A High! Just believe in yourself, and everything will follow through!"

"All Might…!" Izuku smiled widely. Indeed, having All Might as your trainer was an incredible blessing to have.

"Now jump in my truck! We have to get you back home, ASAP!" Izuku hurried along with All Might, despite the protests his body made, with a big smile on his face.

* * *

Jumping in the car, he already began counting with his hand, "Okay, three hours, three hours. If I come home in around ten to twenty minutes, I can shave some time by preparing my clothes before showering, giving me an extra ten to fifteen minutes to study for the practical exam online, giving me the heads up on how many points I should expect to— "

"Midoriya, your mumbling's going to be the death of me one of these days." All Might, in his frail form, responded in court to Izuku's ramblings as he started the car. Said boy recoiled in shock.

"D-don't even joke about that, All Might!" Izuku cried out, and Toshinori Yagi laughed it off.

"You're going to stress yourself out if you overthink things, kid. You're like a ball of nerves going to explode." The car began moving as All Might continued, "Like I said, relax for a short while. You've got this in the bag. Any more of that mumbling's gonna short-circuit your brain. Don't want that happening now, do you?"

"O-of course not!" Izuku exclaimed… before slowly reclining into his seat.

Maybe he was overthinking things? He had no reason to doubt All Might's training, that which included studying the most important parts of the Hero Course.

And now, he had inherited his quirk, 'One for All'… or, at least, he thought he did. Izuku really couldn't feel any much different after eating the hair, but taking All Might's word like the Law, he believed him nonetheless.

Looking out of the window, he watched as buildings and people blurred past him, his eyes slowly drifting away. _Gosh, was this chair always this comfy?_ Izuku's breathing slowed, as his eyelids closed completely, drifting into an exhaustion-fueled slumber…

* * *

"Ha.. ha… ha…" A small figure could be seen, kneeling on the ground, sweat dripping on down his skin.

' _What…?' Izuku spoke, or, at least, he thought he did. He wasn't too sure, really. He felt weightless, light as a feather. It was an unnerving feeling, as Izuku took in the situation._

In front of the kneeling figure, stood yet another figure. Taller, firm, stood straight up, and held an aura of importance. _Getting a closer look, Izuku could see he was wearing a suit._

" **Stand up, little brother!"** The man who was standing had a loud, booming voice, _giving Izuku sharp chills down his spine. Izuku's body began trembling,_

As did the figure who was kneeling. The suited man began laughing.

" **Hahah… Ahahaha…"** the man held his face, shaking his head, **"Foolish little brother… You tremble, knowing full well what kind of person you're facing."**

He then held out his arm, **"How can you be satisfied with the Japan we live in today? Everyone ostracizes you, calls you out, saying the same thing over, and over."** He slowly started closing is hand, **"You're… Quirkless."**

The trembling figure ceased trembling after hearing his words, _and Izuku felt a sharp jab in his stomach, wincing at the sudden feeling of discomfort._

" **Here I am, changing Japan, making it better, all for you, my little brother…"** the suited man shook his head, **"So why must you be the hero, of a clearly flawed nation that SCORNS you for your weakness!?"**

The man planted a firm kicking on his 'brother's side, flinging him away from Izuku and towards a wall, his back slamming hard against the structure.

"Gyah! Hah…! Hah…!" the brother's breathing became rugged, as he held his stomach. The suited man approached slowly.

 _Izuku felt a similar jab in his stomach, over and over again, almost following his own heartbeat. It was becoming… painful, to say the least…_

" **Give up! Give up this dream of becoming a Hero! Let me correct this country, and give you the life you deserve!"** The man outstretched his arm, and a _**million**_ different arms immediately appeared and branched out of his suit, **"Cease your resisting at ONCE!"**

"Hah… Heh… Heheh…" A rugged voice, coming from the other figure, began laughing, as he slowly stood up, his knees quaking, arms nearly limp from his movement, before he brought them close to his body… in a fighting stance.

 _Izuku's body began curling, tightening as his stomach seemed to be lit on fire, "Gya… Auuuugh!?" Constant pain rolled his body over back and forth, yet he continued to watch this figure in morbid curiosity._

"Big brother… you got this all wrong…" he began speaking, his voice simply rugged and tired from the beating he's received, "'Correcting this country', 'flawed nation', all this lingo you talk… sounds like that of _a cold-hearted villain…"_

The shadowed figure shook his head, "I refuse, Big Brother! I refuse to let you become a villain just for my sake!"

" **You'd rather die, fighting me, to protect a nation that has no respect for the likes of you!?— "**

"If I don't fight you, then WHO WILL!?" he screamed, _mixed with Izuku's pained gasps of air, and felt an unearthly power curl in his being,_ "I don't NEED the country's respect given to me on s _ome silver platter!_ I'll earn it, by becoming the World's Greatest Superhero! Even if it means defeating you, right here, right now!" Despite his stance, the figure was once again trembling _, and with a pained eye, Izuku glanced at the figure,_

 _ **Almost to see a similar, worried look plastered on the figure himself, looking quite like one of Izuku's own worried looks. And yet, the figure smiled a bright, confident smile, that seemed so out of place with the rest of his face.**_

 _Izuku's mind cramped down, along with his stomach, as he blacked out in this dream, vision, whatever it was. But before he could lose consciousness, he heard one last, parting remark from the suited man._

" **To think, we were born of the same blood…"**

* * *

"Kid, hey Kid! Wake up, darn it!" Izuku could feel a hundred frail slaps on his face, and noticed the form of Toshinori Yagi, slapping him awake.

"A-All Might…?" Izuku whispered weakly, and Yagi reeled back.

"Shh—Shhshh!" He hushed Izuku, as said boy was firmly getting his consciousness back in order, "Not so loud you idiot, we're in public! Look, we're back at your home, but you only got an hour to prepare, and the train ride to U.A's at least twenty minutes! —"

"O-Only an hour!? What the heck happened, All M—Mmmm!?" Yagi quickly covered the mouth of the young boy, as the man's skin started sweating.

" _Do you have lead for ears kid!?_ Don't say my Hero Name so loud! And it was a villain attack on the way to your house!" Izuku, looking outside the car, noticed police cars around the area, assessing the damage from the recent attack that Izuku couldn't see

"Look, I tried to wake you, but you just wouldn't budge, and I had to do something about it soon." He looked toward the sky, holding his forehead, "Had I known the paparazzi would take so long interrogating me, I would have seriously given up the job to some other hero, but I couldn't just look away from the face of Evil, my role as the Symbol of Peace wouldn't have it."

He shook his head, "So forgive me kid, I tried to wrap things up quick, but life ain't fair. You should know that more than anyone else, right? —"

"It's okay, All Might." Yagi was caught off guard by how firm Izuku's voice sounded, as he continued, "It's a minor setback, but I have everything I need to ace this exam, so it's okay."

"Woah, kid, that's a whole lot of spunk coming from somebody like you— _urkk!?"_ Yagi coughed up blood at the sight of Izuku, because despite his calm demeanor, his face was crying bucket loads of tears once again.

"I'm going to take this exam, and give it my all, even after this minor setback!"

"Kid, you sound tough, but you sure ain't looking your part— _urpph!"_

* * *

 _One Hour later…_

* * *

"Hah! Hah!" Izuku's running slowed to the crawl as he ran past the open gates of the prestigious U.A High, cherry blossoms blowing under the cold wind that flew throughout the property.

"…Made it just in time...!" Izuku spoke in-between haggard breaths, as he approached the tall, gleaming building.

'I'm so glad nothing else slowed me down. Even though I didn't study for the exam, prepare for what the practical would… didn't even try out my new quirk yet…' his thoughts became more and more mellow, before he began shaking his head, 'No, stop thinking about it! All Might said to believe in myself, and that's what I'm going to do! Just believe in yourself, Deku! Believe— '

"Get out of my way, Deku." Izuku gasped at the familiar voice, before looking around to see that, indeed, it was Kacchan, draped in a coat and scarf to battle the cold.

"Kacchan." Izuku spoke in recognition, as Kacchan glared hotly.

"Didn't you hear me!? I said move, or I'll light you up!" Katsuki exclaimed, sending warning symbols down Izuku's spine as he stood straight up.

"Uah! I mean, hey, Good-Morning! I-just-wanted-to-wish-you-luck-in-the-exam, and-hope-for-the-best-out-there, okay, good-luck!" Izuku spoke in one fluid motion, repeating words unnecessarily out of fright. Katsuki, however, simply walked past him in silence, not even giving him a look of disgust or anything.

"Hah? Huh?" Izuku let out some confused words at Katsuki's behavior, as his mind went back on track, 'Wait, he's not even going to bully me? What happened?' he scratched his head, his eyebrows furrowed, 'Could it be that he's not nearly as mad at me as he was before, after the Sludge Villain Attack...?'

" _Deku!? What the hell are you doing here!?" "I d-don't know! My legs—they've just started moving on its own!" "Kacchan, I couldn't have just stood around and watch you die!"_

'Ever since then, he hasn't really talked, but during the training, he never really came out to attack me. Does that mean… he's— '

Izuku rapidly shook his head, one more time, 'No, I can't think about, especially not now. I'm not the useless Deku that I once was! I-I have a quirk now! And with all the work I've put in for it, thanks to All Might,' he began making his way towards the school stairs, 'I'm going to take my first steps towards becoming a Hero!'

Only to begin falling face-first to the ground, tripping on his own leg in nervousness, 'Or I'll just die trying! —' he thought, before being held up by some invisible force.

"Ah…?" he whispered, looking at the ground, before noticing his own legs weren't even touching it as well, "Uah!"

"Hehe! Are you okay?" He heard a female voice next to him, but—

" _Uwahaagh!"_ Izuku was too distracted by the uncomfortable feeling of being held off the ground, squirming and shaking at the feeling, trying to reach the ground once more with his feet, before finally looking toward to source of the voice.

"Heheheh!" the girl next to him laughed, and Izuku stared at her with beady eyes as she held her arms, felt her drag him effortlessly towards the ground, then propped him back on his two feet, before clapping her hands together—and by doing so, Izuku felt the weight of gravity placed once again on his shoulders.

"I stopped your fall with my quirk. I know I should've asked, but I had a feeling that it would be better than kissing the ground, right?"

". . ." Dead silence was Izuku's response, as his face matched that of a mannequin with Googly Eyes.

Yet despite this, the girl continued, "Oh man, this exam's really got me all worked up! You think so, too?"

"Uah—I uh—I mean! —" words were not Izuku's strong point at this moment…

Once again, she continued, "Well, I guess I'll see you inside!" she then turned toward the school, not before waving her hand, "Bye!"

As the girl, who's-name-Izuku-did-not-know-yet, walked off, Izuku's face once again matched the aforementioned Mannequin with Googly-Eyes, before burning hot red!

'Holy crackers, I just talked to a GIRL!' Deku shined with manly-boy pride, although nobody stopped him because ruining a cinnamon bun's happiness is a serious crime.

[Didn't actually talk.] A caption appeared below his face. Surely whoever put that caption down was getting put into jail right this second.

"Haha! Ahaha! Wahaha!" Izuku laugh hysterically at the thought of talking to a girl. Yep, make that maximum security. Our cinnamon bun's corrupted.

* * *

 _Inside the school auditorium._

* * *

Several lights started shining on stage, as the screen shined bright with U.A's logo burning through. Below the screen was a man, a familiar figure, the Pro-Hero: Present Mic.

"What's up U.A candidates! Thank you for tuning in to me, your school DJ!" He pointed toward the crowd, "C'mon and lemme hear ya!" he called.

". . ." Only to receive silence.

"Rocking to a tough crowd, huh?" He spoke, as his arms trembled with a shrug, before straightening himself out, "That's A-Okay, let's just get right into the good stuff! I'm gonna show you how this practical exam's gonna go down, ya hear me!" Despite his less-than-stellar reaction from before, he threw out his hands and let out a big, "ARE YOU READY!?", obviously expecting an eager response.

". . ." Only to be met with silence once again, " _Yeah!"_ Present Mic whispered, almost as if to satisfy himself.

"Oh my goodness!" Izuku exclaimed. Not even the first day, and he gets to meet one of the most reputable and popular Pro Heroes, "It's the voice hero, Present Mic! I've tuned in to every Radio Show every day of the week! He's so cool!"

"Will you shut it." Katsuki Bakugo, who just happened to sit right next to him, muttered in annoyance.

Despite his rock-and-roll talk, Present Mic made it quite clear what was to be expected of Izuku and the nominees. They would set out after the Orientation towards their designated battle centers, a total of seven between the letters A and G.

The first thing, Izuku realized, was that both him and Kacchan, despite being Nominees with numbers back-to-back, were supposed to head out to neighboring stations.

"I see…" Katsuki suddenly spoke, and Izuku looked at him to notice the hothead glancing at Izuku's card as well, "They're splitting us up so that we can't pair up with any of our buddies."

"Y-yeah, that's right! We're assigned to different battle centers because of it, aren't we?" Izuku asked him, only for the boy to glare back as a response.

"Don't just start peeking at my card, Deku." Izuku immediately reeled away, knowing his mistake, as Katsuki glared at his card instead, "Damn it. And here I was hoping to smash you down to the dirt…"

"Haha… ha." Izuku laughed awkwardly. Say what you want about Katsuki, but he was very passionate when it came to curb-stomping his supposed childhood friend.

And like that, Present Mic continued explain what would happen in these battle centers: Robots of different sizes would emerge and cause havoc to the fake cities, hosted by these centers. It was the Candidates job to break these robots, using whatever quirks or elsewise they have in their arsenal.

By the size and capabilities of these robots, each would give them a set of points. One point to the quick and scrawny robots, two to the more-capable robots, and three to the bulky masses of steel that, somehow, were still called robots, designated as the leader of the lower robot groups.

Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but for Izuku, each were plenty terrifying.

If he had even a remote shot of passing the exam, he would have to beat quite a few of those machines, and even then! —

"Excuse me, Mr. Present Mic, sir, I have a question." Another, new voice rang out, catching Izuku's attention as Present Mic pointed toward the Candidate.

"Hit me!" Present Mic exclaimed, as a spotlight shined down on the person-in-question.

The man pointed to the paper showing the robot types being discussed currently, "On the paper, you clearly list four different robot types, yet talk only about three! If this is an error from U.A themselves, then this is a shameful act that needs to be corrected immediately!" Putting the paper down, he held a hand onto himself, "As exemplary students seeking out U.A as their choice of Hero School, we expect only the best. Mistakes like these cannot be tolerated."

Izuku watched with awe as the man spoke his mind clearly, until he looked straight back at Izuku, and pointed at him, catching the boy off guard, "And you, the one with the curly hair!"

"Wh-wha—Me?" Izuku curtly replied, as the man glared at him.

"You've been muttering during the entire length of the presentation. Stop that." Izuku immediately went to cover his mouth, sweating profusely at the idea of distracting his possible classmates, "If you can't take this seriously, leave immediately. Don't distract the rest of us." The man continued, and Izuku couldn't help but tremble, before looking towards Kacchan for any signs of him being annoyed—and indeed, his eyebrows were twitching rapidly! _Yep, he was annoyed too!_

"…I'm sorry!" Izuku weakly replied, and the kids around him laughed a little in response.

"Alright, settle down rockstars! Examinee #7111," he held out a thumbs-up as the man was giving him attention once more, "Thanks for calling in with your request! Don't worry, that was no error, however the fourth and final robot was left out on purpose!

It's simply an obstacle we will be throwing at you sometime during the duration of the exam." He held out his hand, "Even if you do manage to defeat it, he will be worth only zero points, so don't go slamming him down expecting for an encore!"

"Thank you very much for explaining!" the man, 'Examinee #7111', bowed deeply, before having a seat.

"That's all I got for you today, listeners!" he leaned forward, his pale yellow eyes beaming past his shades, "Are you ready to go beyond? Can I hear a 'PLUS ULTRA!'?"

". . ." So much for 'Third time's the charm.'

Despite being met with silence, a thick atmosphere of anxiety filled the room, and Izuku could feel it. This entire room was anxious to get started—

"Good luck! Let's see what all of you are capable of!" Present Mic finished, ending the Orientation.

And Izuku was feeling it, too. The need to show his worth.

* * *

 _Outside, at Battle Station B._

* * *

Outside the Battle Center, Izuku could be seen trembling in his shoes behind the crowd of other candidates, his face filled (to the brim!) with anxiety, but a very worried smile was still present.

It came as no surprise that he was the most worried of the bunch, but everyone else was just as anxious. It did not help that what stood in front of them was a towering gate, the sheer size of the entrance looming over them.

'Well…!' Izuku began thinking, trying to soothe his own inner crisis, 'This is it…! Time to put ten months of All Might's training to the test!'

His knees started shaking more, as the pressure built up, 'I will become a hero, just like I had always dreamed! I won't let myself down!'

To return himself back to his senses, he slapped his face with both of his hands, and just like that, his body returned to normal… well, almost, if not a little red from the fierceness of his slap.

He got a chance to look at the battle center properly and, despite being merely a city for tests, Izuku was impressed on how lifelike it was: The buildings were nearly exact as the ones that could be found in big cities like Shibuya, and the sheer size of the place could be considered a landmark itself.

Looking down, he then noticed that, among the candidates, the same girl that saved him from 'his doom' with the ground was there, practicing breathing exercises to cool down her senses.

Izuku found himself walking towards her, 'I-I should probably return the favor earlier this morning, and wish her luck!'—

But before he could do that, he was stopped by a firm hand placed on his shoulder, and looking back, he was completely taken aback to see the same guy calling out his mumbling from Orientation, stopping him from saying his thanks to the nice girl.

'What!? He's here, too!?' Izuku screamed in his head, as the man look towards the girl Izuku knew from earlier.

"She looks like she's trying to put her focus into the exam." Looking down, the man's gaze made Izuku shrink, "Are you going to distract her, too? Are you trying to ruin her chances of succeeding?"

"Ueh!? Nonono! That's not what I was going to do, not by a longshot! —" Izuku tried to explain himself, before hearing some laughter, as looked back at the group to see the candidates talking about him.

"Look over there. Isn't that the guy from earlier? The one who got embarrassed?

"He nearly wet himself in the lecture hall. Heheh."

"Guy's such a loser. That just means one less competitor to worry about, right?"

And then, for all the wrong reasons, everyone's morals got higher for the exam, not even noticing the gates for the Battle Center opening behind the group.

'Why do I feel like everyone's already written me out of the exam...?" Izuku asked himself, as the man in front of him crossed his arms, while beginning to say—

" **START! ! !"**

Whatever he had to say, it was cut off almost immediately by the same man at the lecture, Present Mic, screaming for the contestants to begin. Everyone, then, was confused at the sudden outburst.

"What's the matter!? Get a move on! We're you waiting for a countdown!? There's nothing like that in real life battles!" If anyone could see Present Mic from the tower he was in, he'd be waving his hands like crazy, **"So get moving! Go, go, go, go, GO!"**

'Is he serious?' Izuku first thought, then noticed all the examinees running through the gate, dread filling his body, 'Oh my God, he IS serious!' almost tripping, he began to make a sprint himself, but noticed he was far behind of the pack, 'Crap crap crap! This is really bad! I've started late!'.

He grits his teeth and began to focus, 'Alright, calm down, focus on what's coming! If you want to be a hero, then you have to think rationally!'

With heat in Izuku's eyes, he looked up, 'I got this! All Might's on my side!'

Running past a crossroad, he felt his mind send danger signals down his body, and before he knew it—

 ***THWACK! ! !***

A hard, metal surface slammed him in his side, making Izuku's eyes widen terribly, _"Ghah…!"_ 'What the!?'

His body was sent soaring towards the side roads, away from the rest of the group before he could even catch up to them.

Quickly getting up, he looked to see—A three-pointer robot, standing large and menacingly above him, with a few robots behind him.

 **[Sabotage Protocol: Successful.]** The larger robot spoke robotically, as it turned to the other robots, ** [Proceed to follow other examinees.]**

[Roger!] The robots spoke in unison, before setting back out on the main road, following behind the rest of the group.

 **[ Now then.]** The robot turned, facing Izuku Midoriya, who was currently trembling at the sight of the menacing machine, his eyes wide, **[Examinee No. 2234…]**

'Why can't I move! C'mon, just get up and smash that thing! Smash it!' Yet, despite his brain yelling to 'smash', his body didn't budge, not even for a moment.

The Robot lifted his arm, and hurled it over towards Izuku, making his eyes widen,

 **[I'll kill you!]** The robot suddenly screamed, completely in contrast to its previous behavior.

Izuku found his will to move after rolling sideways, away from the robots fist that **—*Crash!***

Made a crater on the pavement, spidercracks twirling around the rupture in the ground, as Izuku's eyes shook.

'No way…! Something like that…!' Izuku's mind went into overdrive, as the robot easily lifted his fist off of the ground, and faced Izuku once more, 'Something like that could actually kill me!'

* * *

" **Art of… Seduction!"** An extremely glittery blond boy shot another laser out of his belly, destroying the last of the One-Pointers that seemed to follow him earlier.

"Phew! _C'était moins une_ (That was a close one). These robots have no tact!"

Looking elsewhere, the opposite of Izuku currently was, he began running once more, "Better start finding more, _viet_!" (quick!)

* * *

 **[Stand still, will you!]** The robot screamed once more, and on reflex, Izuku jumped backwards, and back on his feet, once again—

 ***Crash!*** leaving an indent on the street once more, no thanks to the robot.

'Can people die in this exam!? HAVE people died in this Exam!?' his fingers began sporadically twitching, as he walked back, back, back up to wall, 'Th-there hasn't been a confirmed case! —But that was before Quirkless applicants could apply! —'

 **[Stop resisting and...!]** The robot lifted his hand up in the air—

And for that moment, time seemed to slow for Izuku, as he could see how the future could play out.

" _This just in, a young boy, Izuku Midoriya, Age 14, was pronounced dead on the spot during a tragic accident during the Entrance Exam for U.A High." Some nameless news proctor explained, as a picture of himself was shown on the side,_

" _Sources say that he was killed by one of the obstacles during the practical portion of the Exam. Some say the reason was because he was 'Quirkless', being unable to properly handle the trails given by the schoolgrounds, despite initially allowing Quirkless examinees to partake in the Entrance Exam._

 _Needless to say, this exception is being revoked as we speak."_

'I don't… I don't want to die like that…!'

" _The accident could have been avoided, if he simply just had a Quirk— "_

" _Just pray that you have the quirk in the next life, and take a swan dive out of the window!"_ Katsuki suddenly came into his mind, and Deku made a small smile.

'Kacchan! —' His eyes teared up, as his stomach churned in what he assumed was, out of sorrow, 'What would you have done, Kacchan! You wouldn't have let this robot kill you, would you!?' his teeth widened, thinking how amazing Kacchan would have been during a fight like this.

" _Wow, you're so cool!" Kid Midoriya exclaimed, as him and Kid Katsuki explored the forest together, butterfly nets at hand, "Your quirk is amazing, Kacchan! —"_

'Kacchan! —' He closed his eyes, and his body began burning up, as he remembered everything they did together, every fight, every laugh, every encounter they had, whether they were good or bad,

 _Izuku reached toward the notebook, the one burnt by Katsuki Bakugo, and ripped out the page that featured Katsuki as a Hero, using his quirk to save the day—_

'KACCHAN! —'

 _And_ _ **Ripped**_ _the page, right out of the book!_

 **[DIE!]** The robot lunged at the young boy, and Izuku opened his eyes wide, holding out his arms to cover himself.

" **STAY AWAYYYY! ! ! !"** Midoriya screamed, and his arms suddenly crackled with light, before—

 ***** Kwaa— **BOOOOM! ! !***

* * *

 _Moments earlier, Inside the Judges' Tower…_

* * *

"All cameras up and functional. All screens operational." A faculty member manning the computers reported, "Ready to proceed with the Entrance Exam!"

"Great job as always." A furry creature no more than knee-length spoke in full English, wearing a suit and bowtie, "It'd be quite the shame for one of our systems to suddenly break down, Mr. Faculty Member. You have my thanks!"

"Er... you're welcome, Principal Nedzu, sir…!" the member, confused by the name given to him, responded in kind anyway.

"Now pay attention heroes. I have a good feeling about this class!" The creature, known as Principal Nedzu, spoke aloud among the other Pro Heroes.

While saying this he gave a particular look towards Toshinori Yagi, who frantically looked at each screen trying to find a certain examinee, "Yagi-san?" he asked politely.

"U-uh, yes, Principal Nedzu?" he spoke shakily, passing a glance at the screens every so often.

"I know that you have taken interest in one particular examinee here," He held out a finger, one short and white finger, "But you must know that it would be unwise to choose favorites as a teacher. We must demonstrate equality among our students here in U.A!"

Putting his finger down, Nedzu smiled, "We must not fail to do this, else we lose our reputation as both Teachers, and as Pro Heroes… understand?

"Right, right. You've told me this before, Nedzu." He looked toward the screen, much more calmly this time around as Nedzu noticed, and he smiled.

"Alright, Yamada," Present Mic stood as he heard his name called from Nedzu himself, "I think we've kept our budding students waiting long enough. If you could do the honors,"

"All- _riiiight._ Time to get this show on the road!" pumping a fist in the air, he made his way outside of the room, and towards the top of the tower…

* * *

" _ **Start! ! !"**_

* * *

"Oh man, talk about a wolf that's out of the pack…" another Pro Hero present for the judging spoke as they watched Midoriya chasing the other examinees.

"Don't suppose that's the boy you're talking about, Yagi…?" Nedzu whispered, making sure the other judges didn't hear.

"Ye… Yeah." He spoke just as quietly, watching him with a careful eye. While Nedzu did mention not to pick favorites, Yagi couldn't help himself but want to see Izuku in action. Over the long ten months, he'd be lying to say he didn't get attached to the boy: His spirit and merit both screamed similarly to his.

Before Nedzu could reply, however, the some of the other judges gasped when the boy got slammed to the side easily by one of the robots, a Three-pointer to be exact. As the lower-point robots head back towards the large group of examinees, the three-pointer focused on Izuku at that given moment.

Yagi watched with baited breath, as Izuku was as still as a puppet, only moving when the robot lunged at him, 'C'mon, Midoriya…! You need to defeat him…!' like a worried father, he was yelling in his head as sweat rolled down his face.

Watching Izuku dodge once more, only to back to a wall, "Don't suppose he's got a plan?" One Pro-hero spoke aloud.

"Hardly," A popular Pro Hero, the R18 Hero Midnight, spoke in response, "It looks like that kid is just flailing around. Not very youthful if you ask me." She finished

It got Yagi's mind jumping in circles, 'What are you doing, Midoriya!? You're wasting precious time! Just use One for All to smash that thing to bits already!'

As the robot finally aimed his fist once more towards the boy, the boy suddenly acted—Only for the screen to suddenly flash bright, then black out, a big 'No Signal' was present on said screen.

Toshinori Yagi jumped out of his seat, catching the other judges' attention as blood filled his mouth, "What Happ _ngth_!?" he spoke through blood.

"We Lost connection with the camera, sir! Shall I proceed to a different camera location?" one of the staff spoke.

"Nedzu…!" Yagi whispered hoarsely, and the creature nodded, before turning to the staff.

"Please find another suitable camera, and re-focus on Examinee 2234!" Nedzu gave out the order.

"Right!" the staff members responded, switching through the different cameras, only to find one or two more closer cameras also disabled for unknown reasons.

"What kind of quirk did that kid use, anyway?" one of the Pro Heroes asked.

"It said in the files that he was registered quirkless." A more notable hero, Cementoss, spoke in response.

"No way! That young man is quirkless?" Midnight spoke in surprise, "To think there'd be somebody who would actually apply to this course, without a quirk! That takes some serious courage…"

"Well then, if he's quirkless, then there's a likely chance that he might—" before anything else could be said, vision was regained on the monitor that previously had no signal on it.

"We've regained visual contact!" A staff member reported, as the Pro Heroes focused once more on the screen.

"Ugh, can't see anything with all of this smoke!" Midnight spoke, her eyes squinting as if trying to see better through the monitor. Yagi Toshinori was also squinting at the monitor as closely as possible, trying to see any sign of the young boy he trained the past ten months.

However, he soon stopped just to notice faint orange glow through the smoke, sporadically appearing in different sizes. Yagi raised an eyebrow, "What the…. What is that _orange glow_?"

As he spoke, the other noticed it as well, before speaking up, "It's kind of peculiar, isn't it?" Cementoss spoke.

"Seems to me like a rockin' lightshow!" Present Mic spoke as well

"Anyone know what it could be?" Midnight asked, and heroes next to her shook their heads. The smoke began clearing up, as more of the figure could be seen—Yagi sighed at the sight of the boy's tracksuit still standing, and he fell back onto his seat, holding his head.

"That kid's gonna give me a heart attack one of these days." He spoke solemnly, before looking back up to the screen only to till see the orange glow, present on the boy himself, "…What?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of CGI effect is this!?" Present Mic spoke loudly, "I thought you guys said he didn't have a quirk!?"

Yagi leaned forward, almost feeling like getting up again, incredibly quiet as he watched his trainee come into full view.

* * *

 _*Cough! Cough!*_ Izuku was hacking out fumes and smoke, as he tried to regain his bearings. After that robot launched at him, all he could remember was a blinding light, before all this debris came into the area.

"W-What the heck… Is with this smoke…!?" Izuku wheezed out, his voice hoarse from the lack of air as he tried opening one of his eyes, "Where's… the robot!?... Did somebody with a quirk stop him? —"

 ***Pop! Crackle Fitz! Paw-pawp!*** The sound of a firecracker was near Izuku, as he looked up towards the noise, expecting some sort of person there, only to find chunks of the robot laying around.

'Is that the robot?' Izuku began wondering.

 ***Pop! Paw-Pop! Ftzzzzzzz!...*** More of that firecracker noise began popping in, and Izuku noticed a slight glow on his right arm—

 ***Pop!*** Only to see a tiny explosion appear on his arm once more!

" _Uwah!"_ Izuku jumped, landing right back on his butt, as he held out his right arm in fright—

 ***Pop! Crackle!*** The hand had more explosions popping out of it, causing Izuku's eyes to widen, and for sweat to start coming out of his body—

 ***Pop! Crackle-Crackle! Paw-Pop! Phow!*** —Causing more explosions to appear on his arm!

"… **!"** A sharp gasp escaped his lips, and Izuku's other arm went for his mouth as he covered it, his mind suddenly running a thousand miles an hour at this info.

'Oh my God…! Oh my God, _Oh my God,_ _ **Oh my God! —'**_

 ***Crackle! Paw-pap!***

'There's no way! This must be a joke! This isn't All Might's quirk! This is…! Oh my God, this is…!'

 ***Pop!*** One more, definitive explosion rang clear in Izuku's ears. His eyes began tearing up, as emotions flooded his being.

"This is… Kacchan's…!" He started speaking, quietly, frightened, almost afraid to say it out loud, before gulping loudly, "This is Kacchan's… Quirk! Why am I using Kacchan's Quirk— _H-how am I using his quirk!?_ _ **What the heck is going on!?"**_ he spoke aloud, his eyes shaking.

 ***Pop! Crackle!***

* * *

"Judging by his reaction, it seems like the young boy finally acquired his Quirk." Cementoss spoke, catching the judges' attention.

"Wait, hold the phones!" Present Mic spoke loudly, "This late into the show!? How is something like that even possible!?"

"Indeed," Nedzu spoke calmly, as he rubbed his tiny chin, "There had been cases of late bloomers, but even then, those were recorded way back before Middle School. This boy either hid his quirk really well… or maybe the Robot scared the quirk out of him… Hmm." Nedzu glanced at Yagi—

Who had his mouth wide open, his eyes sharp and surprised, "Yagi-san?" Nedzu asked for his friend's attention.

" _Can somebody become a Hero like you, even without a Quirk!?"_ Izuku's words, ten months backs, rang once again inside Yagi's mind, as he looked just as shocked as Izuku.

'Young Man… this is something you wouldn't lie about something like that, would you?' Yagi asked himself, as he closed his mouth, 'Has your quirk finally awakened, after all this time…?'

"Regardless of this development, the Exam must go on!" Nedzu exclaimed, before turning to Present Mic, "Yamada-san, give out the time, will you?" Nedzu called out, and Present Mic grinned.

"With pleasure boss!" He exclaimed, heading outside and jacking up his quirk to _something_ -hundred AMPs…

* * *

" **Eight Minutes!"** Izuku immediately heard Present Mic call out, his eyes widening at the information.

"Eight Minutes!?—" Izuku shook his head, and glared at his hand that was sparkling with explosions, 'I don't need an explanation right now! I have to pass this exam if I ever want to be a hero!'

Holding out his arm in front of him, he closed his hand, and the explosions ceased to continue. Closing his eyes, he could feel the pressure building within him—The passion to build stronger, brighter firepower inside his body!

And with this passion, he _willed_ stronger explosions to appear—and indeed, more pressure and fire came out of his arm, making the young boy smile, 'With Kacchan's amazing quirk! —'

 ***Kwa-Boom! Pshah!*** Stronger, more profound explosions made an appearance on his arm, and the recoil made Izuku shake, needing him to control the exploding arm with his free one. He felt the embers brush past him, aimlessly and free, blowing through the wind.

It was enough to bring out a newfound confidence with Izuku Midoriya, one that wasn't found at the start of the exam!

' **I will beat this Exam, and become a Hero, just like All Might!'** Izuku smiled, determination burning inside his being as strong as the embers on his hands.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Continue down below for some important info and some review responses as well! Hope to see you next time!**

* * *

Alright, 41 pages-worth and 10k+ words. Phew, hope it was worth it!

So, like I written above, the amount of support everyone has given me is crazy. I absolutely love and appreciate those that put the extra time to review, favorite, and follow this story. Seriously, seeing numbers like that rise above the rest of the stories make me incredibly confident about the way this story will shape up.

Which brings me to my next thing: The story. The Pilot I made earlier works with only the best action-y scenes possible, with no rhyme or reason, which might come off as confusing to the reader.

Unfortunately, it should come out as no surprise that I cannot do the same with the actual story; The story will have to be built from scratch: The Origin of Izuku's All for One, along with the demonstration of its abilities and drawbacks, need to begin from square one, and build up gradually with a maintained pace—

In short, Tl;dr if you will, **The start of the story may possibly be slow for some readers!**

Izuku cannot have all of the quirks in his arsenal, right away! That's silly storytelling, and a cop-out! All I ask is to **please be patient** , and give ample amounts of support like with Chapter One!

Like I said before **, the goal here is ten chapters** , and with those ten chapters, the Story will build itself to where I want it to be in due time. Rest assured, I will not give up on this story anytime soon!

Thanks again for reading. Review responses will be below!

* * *

 **Angryboy13:** Thanks for being my very first review! Surprisingly enough, you're the only one to ask that question as far as Izuku using Recovery Girl's Quirk, haha. We'll just have to find out, won't we?

As far as All for One goes, this chapter could explain when it showed up, but the rest will have to be explained later! (No spoilers lol!)

 **JustSomeRandomReader01:** It will be referred as All for One, for now, in the early chapters. However **, I already planned a different name for the quirk, very similar to the 'neighbors' One for All and All for One.** Again, no spoilers lol.

Also, the whole harem thing is what I planned initially, but I thought against it, as that kind of romance would be strained knowing there'd be multiple partners: It just simply wouldn't feel realistic. Be prepared for some interesting encounters in the future, though!

 **Karlos1234ify** : Glad you think so! Hope to keep it that way!

 **SirJanStark** : Thank you! And yes, I'm a fan of vanilla too. Glad to have similar tastes!

 **Heikichi107** : (I laughed realizing how many people want to change the name of Izuku's All for One!) Thank you for your review man! Yes, this All for One is very different, and will be explained in future chapters why that is. Trust me, **I already got the new name for it down.** But, once again, no spoilers lol!

 **Santoridium** : Your review has made me very happy. I'm glad my writing has been enough to motivate your response. I'm glad to see your appreciation, and would like to hear you more, if you had the time!

I'm glad you're excited to see the future of this story. I am too. It's been buzzing in my head for way too long, the thought of Izuku having this quirk gives a ton of potential for him and his friends. Expect more in the future, okay! Hope to hear from you again!

 **Guest** : I can see you're up-to-date with the manga, talking about Bakugo's situation like that. I only know bits and pieces for those events, since I'm purely an Anime watcher for the moment, but the scene I depicted in the Pilot holds sometime after the Hosu City / Hero-killer Incident, hence the references to Hosu city in the pilot.

Glad you caught me saying Izuku isn't OP. Like I said there will be limitations, **and some of those limitations will be illustrated in the next chapter.**

 **Elmasguaponazario501:** (Translated to: I found it great and somewhat original ... Very good, quite original give it an all for one version that requires enough learning to apply it)

Glad you can read along with the story. You seem to understand All for One's concept pretty well! Hope you come back and enjoy the story as it progresses!

 **The man of many talents:** Hell yeah!

 **Someguy:** Haha! Yeah, that's pretty cheesy lmao. Probably gonna stick with Deku on this one. There's too much of an emotional impact that name brings to Izuku. I simply cannot drop it!

 **Johnny Spectre:** It seems you're getting it! There's a bit more too it as I will demonstrate in later chapters, but in short, yeah! Definitely not like the villain's All for One!

 **Muk854:** Another review that made me particularly happy. I'm glad my writing was fantastic enough to get you excited for more. Hope you enjoy this chapter, too.

And yeah, where's the fun in an OP Deku, right?

 **MIKE202303:** Will do buddy! Keep sticking around as well, alright?

 **Kawaii Snowdrop:** I'm glad to hear it, thanks for the review! Also, thank you for mentioning keeping the Characters themselves, and not OOC. I'm double, if not triple checking my writing every break to make sure that's the case. Hopefully you fantastic readers will let me know otherwise, and don't worry about the confusing timeline thing: That's simply because I wanted the Pilot to get straight into the action.

 **ShiningStar32:** Thank you very much for the review, and thanks for caring about me personally lol! I'm glad you're excited about this story and what's to come, because trust me, there's more to come. If I had to ask anything from the readers, **it's to be patient in the very first few chapters, simply because I'll be demonstrating everything about this quirk,** right before it starts to really take off.

 **Superfanman217: (In All Might's Voice) And I love YOU, random reviewer**! Lol just kidding. Thanks for your review!

 **GotTheMovesLikeYaegar:** Wow, surprise review the day I upload the this chapter lol. This version of the quirk is different, and will be explained in the chapters to come. Stay tuned, yeah?

Regardless, thank you for your support everyone! See you all in the next chapter!~


	3. Chapter 3 - Crossing the Line (Part Two)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca!**

 **100 followers! That's awesome. How long will it take for 100 reviews, however? That's the million-dollar question right there!**

 **Review, favorite, and follow guys! I notice that stuff! Seriously, you guys are great!**

 **Enjoy the next chapter of 'My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!'**

* * *

 _Recap of the last chapter..._

* * *

" _ **Eight Minutes!"**_ _Izuku immediately heard Present Mic call out, his eyes widening at the information._

" _Eight Minutes!?—" Izuku shook his head, and glared at his hand that was sparkling with explosions, 'I don't need a explanation right now! I have to pass this exam if I ever want to be a hero!'_

 _Holding out his arm in front of him, he willed stronger explosions to appear—only to see more fire and pressure build up in his arm, 'With Kacchan's amazing quirk!—'_

 _ ***Kwa-Boom! Pshah!***_ _Stronger, more profound explosions made an appearance on his arm, and the recoil made Izuku shake, needing him to control the exploding arm with his free one._

' _ **I will beat this Exam, and become a hero!'**_ _Izuku smiled, determination burning inside his being as strong as the embers on his hands._

* * *

Chapter 3 – Crossing the Line (Part Two)

* * *

With Izuku's new quirk, that bore a very similar resemblance to his best friend Kacchan's, he felt the burning desire to beat this exam to the ground. Indeed, he saw firsthand the capabilities of the Explosion quirk for _years_ now, thanks to Kacchan, watching it grow to the quirk the hothead used proudly, and with expertise.

This quirk was strong. It was very powerful, all right. And It was going to be the key to his place at U.A High!

"Hey!" He heard a familiar voice call out to him, and he turned to find—

No other than the guy back in the auditorium, the one that accused him of distracting everyone!

"Are you alright!?" he exclaimed, "I heard you scream, and assumed the worst! Is everything —"

Before Izuku could even respond, his eyes caught a shadow approaching behind him, and immediately noticed a large, moving _thing_ approaching the guy, without him even knowing.

 **[Examinee spotted!]** It was yet _another_ three-pointer, who was following the man to this location. Said man turned around to face the robot, only for his eyes to widen.

"A three-pointer!? I must've let my guard down!" He crouched to a runner's position, despite his proximity to the robot, "I need at least few meters of running space to—" he jumped at a sudden green blur that ran past him,

" **T-Take this!"** he watched the plain-looking Izuku raise a palm at the robot—

" **Fwah-Pmmmmm! !*** Reeling back as the sudden explosion _out of nowhere_ caught him off guard!

" _Woah!"_ The man exclaimed, holding his footing at the winds billowing everywhere, watching the robot get launched as bits and pieces flew everywhere.

The wind died down, and the upright man looked towards Izuku, as he panted with an outstretched hand—

 ***Pwapsh! Pop! Crackle crackle!*** that had tiny pops of fire growing out of it.

Izuku turned to face him, "Yeah! Totally fine! Perfect even!" he exclaimed, answering the man's question he asked in the first place.

"You—what's somebody like you doing with such a destructive quirk!?" he responded, watching as the carnage in front of him, parts of the robot still falling from the sky and smoke was thrown around from the wind.

He pointed towards the wreckage Izuku made, "What you did was _complete overkill!_ A simple explosion to the front should've taken him down just fine! _"_

"Overkill?—" Izuku repeated, before shaking his head, "I-I mean, I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to take down that robot be-before he could get you, that's all!"

"…" the man blinked at his honest response, his words sounding _similar_ to somebody he knew. He closed his eyes and looked away, "Despite… my better judgement… you did take out that robot when I couldn't… So…"

He quickly bowed, his quick behavior change surprising Izuku "Thank you for helping me!"

"Heh?" An awkward sound came from Izuku's throat, as he was still as a billboard, feeling awkward at the man taking a bow out of nowhere, "You… don't need to bow—"

"But I must! What you did for me, " He looked up at Izuku, "Was a heroic act! And I respect that!"

" _Heroic Act! Heroic Act! Heroic Act!—"_ Izuku went stiff, his eyes wide at the man's words.

He then looked down at his hand, plumes of explosions coming out of it—seemingly stronger now as Izuku's emotions burned brighter.

What he did… was heroic? It was only his thoughts until now, that he would become a hero, but after somebody else saying it…!

" _Young Man, you too can become a Hero!"_ Just like All Might…!

Izuku suddenly made a sprint towards the other way, away from the man as he watched with confusion.

'Is he offended from what I said?' he thought, only then to realize what he was partaking in, 'No… he's focused on the Exams! I shouldn't waste any more time!'

" _I-I just wanted to take down that robot be-before he could get you, that's all!"_

Cursing himself for becoming distracted, he thought back on Izuku's words, 'Saying something like that… That guy…'

* * *

"IT'S A TEN!" Midnight, with hearts bouncing around her, exclaimed holding a sign saying '10' on it, "Oh, the youth that young boy has! To jump in and save another man-in-action like that… we need more _vigorous_ men like that in _our_ generation!" she began dancing around, getting a few sweatdrops from the fellow Pro Heroes around her.

"You're being biased, Midnight. No matter how you look at it, Iida Tenya would've performed just the same as his other encounters." Cementoss muttered, placing a cement-covered hand under his chin, "I'll pass on this rating," He gave her a hard look, efficiently ending her 'dance of happiness', "Save those for when they _really_ matter. You know better than to toss points around like that."

"Buzz-kill." She muttered under her breath, before noticing the other Pro Heroes following suit, refusing to give out their ratings.

She sighed, "Fine, fine… I'll take things seriously from now on. Bunch of _herbivores_..." she remarked on their lack of backbone.

"Don't hesitate on what you feel is right, Midnight-san." Nedzu spoke up, gaining her attention, "After all, Heroes should always meddle, and help those that are in danger, no matter who they are and what they're capable of."

"Izuku Midoriya seems to have those qualities, despite the competition this exam brings," He then held out a sign with a '5' printed out, "I feel as though Izuku deserves this… the young man has certainly showed his Hero Spirit."

Nedzu passed a glance at his friend Yagi. The man was silent, his hollowed-out eyes tracking Izuku's every move, curious, and astonished.

Nedzu, with a small smile, turned to the faculty staff. "Very well. If nobody else will deliver their rating, then for Izuku Midoriya, he should gain 15 Rescue points for his actions."

* * *

Izuku _ran!_

His blood was pumping, his legs were quaking, and his mind was going _crazy!_

But most importantly—!

 ***Pop! Pop!*** His new quirk… was going _wild!_

What that man said was going on repeat for a while now, as Izuku held a great big smile on his face, his eyes watery.

'If I can do something like that so easily, using Kacchan's quirk, then—!' He stopped immediately when a One-pointer showed up in front of him.

 **[Target found!]** It spoke, and Izuku' first reaction was to blast it to smithereens, until the man's words spoke in his head again.

" _Wasn't what you did a bit overkill!?"_ With a glare, and a grin, Izuku dodged the charge the robot gave, and settled with a well-placed explosion dotted right on its side.

 ***Fwa-pmm!***

The robot crumbled before him, effectively shutting the robot down right on the spot. Izuku had a grand smile on his face, once again looking at his explosion-popping hand.

'Even with something as simple as that, and I barely broke a sweat!' He clenched his hand, and looked up towards the crossroads, 'This exam… _is going to be a piece of cake!'_

Izuku began running again—but started crying as tears wafted in the wind.

'It's so simple! It's so, so simple!' He exclaimed in his head, as he used his arm to brush away the tears, 'I understand now, why Kacchan is the way he is! Why he's so bossy—

" _Kacchan, you're so amazing! Your quirk is so cool! I hope mine can be just as great when it comes!"_

'With a quirk as flexible as his, it really…!' He jumped above a corpse of a machine, and sought out more robots.

His eyes continued to water up, as he had no doubt or dread touch his being while using the quirk in his hand, 'It really gives me the strength… to take on _the world!'_

"Damn it!" Izuku overheard another examinee cursing, as he looked to find a man, surrounded by one-pointers, "Really put myself in a pickle here—"

Izuku's mind clicked, as he grinned at the sight before him.

Izuku sprinted towards them, and blew up one of the one-pointers to give him an entrance to jump in, "H-hey, think you need some help!?" Izuku exclaimed, and the guy looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Huh!? You're that kid from before—!?" He asked, shocked, before shaking his head and turning his back on Izuku, "Y'know what, yeah! You take those three, I'll take these three!" The nameless man spoke up, and Izuku nodded, grinning.

"Right! Let's do this!" Izuku exclaimed—

 ***Pwapsh! Pop! Crackle crackle!*** his quirk roaring once more!

* * *

"Despite this being a competition… the boy is taking it on himself to help other examinees." The cloning Pro Hero, Ectoplasm, finally spoke up, being quiet for the duration of the judging for the most part.

"Say what you want about the man, Cementoss," Midnight flicked her wrist and pointed a finger at the boy, "But that young man certainly has the spotlight at the moment!"

"While that may be true…" Cementoss responded, watching the boy carefully, "He has only but a fraction of time to really show it. A little over six minutes left, to be precise. If he really wants to be in this school, he's going to have to make it count—"

"We-We've got a quirk match, Nedzu, sir!" A faculty member exclaimed, catching everyone's attention as one of the big screens came to show… none other than Katsuki Bakugo, blasting away robots with his quirk.

"Katsuki Bakugo, Examinee #2233! His quirk and Izuku Midoriya's sudden quirk… are an exact match!"

"A copy of the same quirk?" Nedzu asked, curious. Yagi's eyes widened.

'Wait, young Midoriya's power… isn't even his own!?' Yagi immediately thought, his throat drying up at the thought.

"Are you suggesting… that Izuku Midoriya copied Katsuki Bakugo's quirk?" Ectoplasm asked, his face meeting the faculty member's, and said member shrunk.

"It's… uncertain! However, it's very possible. Another examinee," He pulled up another young man, by the name of Neito Monoma, who was seemingly brushing past heroes, then using the most recent heroes quirk to defeat the robots, "Examinee #5179, Neito Monoma! He has a quirk that copies anyone else's quirk, simply by touch!"

"By touch, you said?" Midnight spoke, confused, "But that can't be the case, right?" She pointed at Katsuki, then at Izuku, "These two are at separate Battle Centers, are they not? I can tell just by looking at the scenery…"

"A-ah, that's right, Midnight-san!" A faculty member reported, "Katsuki Bakugo is currently located at Battle Center B, while Izuku Midoriya is at Battle Center A! Izuku was nowhere near the other boy when his quirk showed up!"

"Interesting, very interesting!" Nedzu was kicking his legs, a smile on its face, "We seem to have quite the interesting roster going on here! I can't wait to see who will prevail!"

"Oh?" Power Loader, the Excavation Pro-Hero, watched both Katsuki and Izuku with mild surprise, "Even if both quirks are a copy, the way they use them is completely different…" He pointed at Katsuki briefly, "He uses them solely for destroying the villians, in quick and creative ways, but," then he pointed at Izuku, "He's been using his quirk to save fellow examinees. This is his third save in a row. I wonder if he knows the secret of this exam already…?"

"Th-third save!?" Present Mic exclaimed, taken aback by the boy's guts, "That kids insane! And even then," He looked towards Nedzu, exasperated, "Shouldn't we be tallying this kid's score up by now? When do we rate him!?"

"Once he finishes his 'saving spree', of course." Nedzu replied calmly, his legs still kicking, "If he returns back to just defeating villain robots, that'll give us the moment to give him the rating for his performance!" He gave Yamaha an eye-smile, "I've been watching him this entire time, and he's putting up quite a show! For now, Yamaha-san, give the time to our examinees, would you kindly?"

"Got it! And I'm rooting for the little guy! He's turning out to be quite the underdog!" Present Mic left with those parting words, heading outside of the judges' corner once again.

* * *

" **Five Minutes, Two Seconds!"** Izuku heard Present Mic call out the time, and a tiny chill ran up his spine at the sudden call.

"Five minutes, a-already!?" Izuku cried out, before shaking his head, 'No, I mustn't lose focus! I'm already getting a big headstart, a whopping _18 points,_ using Kacchan's quirk!—'

He overheard robots being smashed from the distance, and noticed the uptight man that told him about his Heroic Nature, smashing a robot with efficiency.

"Alright!" He spoke loudly, catching his footing as he made the landing, "That makes 42!"

'Fo-Fourty Two!?' He felt the confidence he once had completely drain from his body, as his hands trembled.

"R-release!" He heard a familiar voice, and turned to see the very same girl he met at the entrance of U.A, dropping multiple robots onto the ground, disabling them, as she wiped her brow, "Phew, that's 28 points!"

' _Twenty eight!?'_ Izuku immediately thought about the girl's quirk, the one that simply caught the boy's fall back in the entrance, 'If a quirk like that could rack up 28 points easily, then-!'

" _Whatever, Deku. No matter what quirk you have, it's not going to compare to mine!"_ Young Kacchan's words rang clear in his mind, as he clenched his fists.

'I have… no excuse to slack off with Kacchan's quirk!' He screamed in the back of his head, and with a worried face, sought out more robots to defeat—

 **[Examinee spotted!]** Hearing a familiar mantra, he turned to find a one-pointer approaching him cautiously.

Izuku, with a panicked look, held out his hand.

"Eat this— _Ghaaaack_!?"Izuku suddenly reeled back his hand, as he felt something similar to his muscles being sprain, almost _torn_ , and in pain. Stepping back a little, he looked down at his hand—

It was trembling, twitching, and incredibly _dry_!As if it ran out of fuel, or fire to run on. Izuku's fears magnified, as he looked back up to the robot— to see it charging at him!

 **[DIE!]** It exclaimed, and Izuku simply reeled back and guarded his face, losing his only real edge in the fight, until—

He heard the robot suddenly getting smashed, and pulled down his arms to see none other than the uptight man, using his legs to break open the frail robot.

"There! Now we're even!" He spoke, catching Izuku's attention as he brushed himself off, "I don't like feeling the need to owe another a favor, especially not for so long. Glad that's sorted out."

"You saved me… Thank you!" Izuku exclaimed, and the man shook his head.

"Think nothing of it. And my name's not 'you'." He placed a hand on his chest, "I'm Tenya Iida, from Soumei Academy. And you are?"

Izuku branched at the sudden introduction, "I-Izuku Mi-Midoriya! Nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure's mine. Let's not waste any more time." And with that, he made a break for it, and Izuku noticed his legs spitting out fumes—and then noticed the _engines_ growing on the back of his legs!

"Cool! —" Izuku shook his head, and focused back on his hand, 'N-now's not the time. C'mon, you need to have Kacchan's quirk back up and running if you want to pass!'

He gripped his wrists hard, and focused on making the explosions come back again—

 ***Pop!*** And they did, only to—

"Ghh!?" Cause Izuku more pain! He closed both his eyes in response, before opening one in confusion, looking toward his hand, _'I-I don't understand. Kacchan never had this problem as far as I know! Something like this isn't supposed to happen!? Why!?_ ' He thought back to Kacchan, and how easy he used his quirk before.

' _Am I just unlucky!? Can I not use Kacchan's quirk as much as he can!?'_ Tears sprinkled the side of Izuku's face, as he put more pressure on his wrist, _'No! I can't think of that! Not here! Not now!'_

 ***Paw!* "** Ghrrr!" Izuku gritted his teeth, as another surge of pain shot through his arm!

'Come on!' Izuku cried out in his head, staring hard at his hand which refused to give out the amazing quirk, any more, ' _Come on! !'_

* * *

While the other judges talked about the other examinees, Nedzu noticed Izuku's plight, and had a small, sad smile, 'Finally reached your limit my friend? It's better now than later, I suppose…'

"Oh, it seems the young man finally stopped saving others." Midnight noticed as well, before looking at Nedzu, "Shall we give him the rating now?"

Nedzu, jumped out of his seat, and shook his head, "Nope! I have a better idea!" he then pointed at the faculty staff, "Release the 0-pointer! It's time to wrap this test up!"

"Oh boy!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"About time." Cementoss spoke evenly.

Yagi was still silent, watching as the faculty confirmed the opening of the button labeled ' **Determination Switch'** , before pressing it, leading to the release of the 0-pointer.

'Young Man… It is time.' He thought, looking back at the screen where Izuku was, where he was seen holding out his hand, 'It's time to make this count! Now… or _never!'_

* * *

Rumbling, faint but disturbing rumbling could be felt around the area, and Izuku Midoriya was not one to ignore it. Releasing his hand, he looked around to find the source of it.

'An earthquake!?' Izuku first thought immediately, before noticing a large shadow appear, and began slowly turning around…!

And there it was… a Giant, overbearing robot that seemed to scale even the tallest buildings in the Battle Center! Its shadow scaled far and wide across the roads and skyscrapers…

The huge robot just screamed, 'Fear me'!

'No way…! Is that…!?' Izuku's body stiffened up, looking at the beast of a machine.

" _The fourth and final robot is simply an obstacle we will be throwing at you sometime during the duration of the exam!"_

Izuku watched with cold fear all over his body, as the robot motioned to slam and smash through buildings left and right.

Numerous examines were running away from the robot—running past him, but Izuku couldn't do anything except look at the robot in fear.

" _Even if you do manage to defeat it, he will be worth only zero points, so don't go slamming him down expecting for an encore!"_

'Th-that has to be the zero-pointer!' Izuku's mind clicked into place, as his body began moving, 'It's not worth anything! Just an obstacle! So I need to run, get out of here, and find more robots!'

Tripping on his own feet, he felt fear cloud his movements and decisions, and he was left scrambling on the ground, trying to get up, "C'mon, move! I can't stand around! _Move_!"

He felt scared, sick, and most importantly, frustrated. His quirk didn't work properly, and he was left with less points than other examinees.

At this rate, he wasn't sure that he was going to pass—!?

" **Less than two minutes remaining!"** Present Mic exclaimed, and Izuku's pressure _peaked!_

"What!? Only two minutes!?" Izuku's eyes continued to water, as he held his mouth.

He thought he had a chance, a shining beacon of hope when Kacchan's quirk appeared! He felt unstoppable, as powerful as Kacchan himself!

If he only knew there'd be a limit, _then he wouldn't waste it on—!_

" _Hey kid, you ain't so bad after all! Thanks for saving me before my goose gets cooked!"_

One of the examinees that helped him said that before, and he froze up. Would he really have had an easier time—?

" _But I must! What you did for me,"_ Izuku remembered Iida's words, _"Was a heroic act! And I respect that!"_

Would he really have an easier time…? If he had simply ignored the others, instead of saving them…?

" _Young Man,"_ for the ump-teenth time, All Might's words made rang clear in Izuku's head, " _You, too, can become a hero!"_

If he couldn't save others… then **what was the point of him becoming** _ **a hero at all**_ **!?**

" _Ow!"_ Izuku froze, hearing the girl back in the entrance exam cry out in pain, as he turned towards the menacing robot, to find—

None other than the same girl, stuck under a pile of rubble of concrete, her leg locked in an uncomfortable position, her face displayed with pain and trouble.

She could barely get up to a crouched position. She was trapped!—

Izuku stopped thinking entirely. His mind halted, and ceased thinking about all the problems he faced.

Not Kacchan's Quirk.

Not the points, no matter how slim.

Not the robot.

To _her…_

The first person that this place has shown any kind gesture to him. That helped him, saved him from something as simple as embarrassment.

Even if it was a simple, small gesture…

" _I stopped your fall with my quirk. I know I should've asked, but I had a feeling that it would be better than kissing the ground, right?"_

Compared to everything before—!

' _Deku' is also another way of saying 'Useless'!"_

" _What? It's in your name, so it has to be true!"_

" _Yeah, Kacchan's right, Deku. Since when is he ever wrong?" One of them said._

" _Yeah, what he said! What's wrong, Deku, can't handle the truth!?"_

 _Save her…!_

" _ **Oh no, Deku's gonna be in so much trouble…!"**_

" _ **Do NOT call me Kacchan again! You hear me! I'm make you regret it!"**_

 _ **Save her!**_

 _ **Sorry, kid, it isn't going to happen,"**_

" _ **With this extra pinkie-toe joint, you're simply not going to develop a quirk."**_

" _ **I'm so sorry…! Izuku…!"**_

" _ **You're just a quirkless loser!"**_

 _ **"A hero wannabe!"**_

 _ **"Are you still thinking about applying to U.A!? Get real!"**_

 _ **"You're much better off going to some other course! Without a quirk, you're nothing!"**_

 **SAVE HER!**

" **You're… Quirkless."** And, for some reason, that suited man's words suddenly rang forth. Izuku didn't know the man, and yet, his words made him feel pure _fury!_

" _ **If I don't—"**_

Izuku's legs resumed function, and Izuku got up immediately. He faced the robot—

" _ **Then WHO WILL!?"**_

Letting out a grunt, he _sprinted_ , right toward the metal beast!

 ***PAW-POP! PWPP-P-P-P!*** Izuku heard fireworks coming from his other arm, but he couldn't care less at its sudden appearance, unable to feel the pain anymore—his body was on full auto-pilot! It's course: To save the girl!

An overwhelming feeling of power crashed through him, as he stood in front of the robot, crouched—surging One for All, the quirk that was on the back of his mind since Kacchan's quirk appeared, suddenly taking full effect!

And Izuku _launched!_

Soaring through the sky, like a plane—and F-35 fighter jet! _Even faster!_ He threaded in-between the robot's fingers, and flew fast towards the robot's face.

" _When you're ready to use my quirk, clench your buttcheeks as tight as you can manage—!"_ All Might could be hear repeating how his quirk was performed, as Izuku cocked his fist back—

 ***PSHAK! PAWAP!* Using his right hand, the very same hand that Kacchan's quirk was irregularly popping from, he channeled one for all through the arm,** pumped it with energy, the sheer power coming out of his skin, ripping the remaining part of his tracksuit!

"And scream from **the bottom of your heart!—"** Izuku repeated All Might's words, and followed through with them crystal clear, as his arm eclipsed with strength— **Kacchan's quirk, silent!**

Izuku's voice roared, loud and strong, as he threw the punch, " **Smaaaaaa** _ **AAASH! ! ! !"**_

What was a simple punch… **Ignited into flame.**

 ***Kwaaaa—BOOOOOOOM ! ! ! !***

And a violent, Mother-of-All-Bomb-level explosion racketed the entire city, as the robot's upper-torso was _destroyed to smithereens!_

And all of the examinees, present at Battle Station A, were _stunned_ to say the least!

* * *

Not gonna lie, kid, you had me worried there for a second…" Yagi was talking to himself as most of the other judges were cheering for the boy's heroic act, "I was hoping you would show the same display of heroism that you've showed back when we first met."

He passed a glance at the other judges, and while some of them were more forthright in displaying their excitement for the scene, others at least had a smile on their face, showing the pleasure in what they just saw, "Because if you want in this school, you have to go beyond just being a hero…"

Yagi looked back at the screen, taking note of how any examinee viewed in that moment was immobile, rooted in their places, looking at the boy in shock, "And there is _nothing_ more heroic… then self-sacrifice!"

* * *

 _*Psh-Psh-Psh-Psh-Psh-*_ Numerous windows, destroyed by the sudden velocity of the explosion, rained glass down to the roads, and _shattered_ on the floor!

The robot was violently hurled back, as it came smashing onto the ground in a heap of unmoving steel, numerous embers sprinkled on top of the destroyed _carcass_ of a machine.

When numerous bystanders watched the scene, they were at first in awe—until the sound of the explosion came crashing into their ears, the many lot of them choosing to cover their ears as soon as they received the unpleasant ear waves.

* * *

 ***Booom!***

Standing on top of a heap of robots, Katsuki raised an eyebrow at the sound of a warhead going off, before snickering it away.

"Sounds like somebody's just died, I bet." Kacchan joked with himself, cocky with his combat prowess as he jumped off the pile, "Oh well. Just means less competition for _me_."

* * *

The judges noticed the cascading amounts of damage appearing around the area, and watched with baited breath as examinees narrowly avoided falling glass and debris caused by the explosion.

"Isn't this getting a bit _out of hand_!?" One of the faculty members exclaimed, as he stood from his seat, "This couldn't have been caused by the robot, could it!?"

"The robots have been designed to maintain minimal damages when destroyed. This is not the robot's fault" Power Loader responded curtly.

"Then, that means-!"

Yagi's eyes widened at the implications, and his mouth opened, 'Midoriya…! Did your quirk and One for All… _**mix!?'**_

* * *

Izuku, recovering from his sudden drive of adrenaline, felt gravity press itself on his back once more, and felt the rush of wind blow past his face. He looked down just to see how high up he was, only to see—

He was, at this point, skydiving higher than the buildings around him, and he couldn't help but to scream!

His voice came out, and he felt the vibrations, but everything he heard was muted, muffled, almost like earphones was placed on his head— But he couldn't focus on that now!

'Craaaaap!' Midoriya cursed, watching as the ground came closer into view, 'I didn't think of an exit strategy! I wouldn't think that I'd be so high up!'

'Okay, think Midoriya! You can use One for All to land just like All Might, right!? So just do that! Yeah, just—'

Despite his brain signaling his body to move, he felt no response come from his legs—or his arm!? He looked to see—

Broken, mangled messes of limbs flopping in the wind with no control! Izuku felt the shock rattle his entire being, ' _My body's… broken!?'_

'No way!? Was this because of One for All!?' Izuku tried to hold his arm, to put it into place, but felt tremendous amounts of pain from doing so. Izuku once again felt tears spring past his eye ducts, 'That's right, All Might said so himself!'

" _Now listen, you've taken this quirk under a seriously short notice! I can't say you can use this quirk and come out without a scratch!"_

Izuku felt his hot tears fly past his face, up to the air, " _So in the exams, be prepared for some kickback, okay!"_ 'I didn't listen to him! I failed! And now—!'

'No!' Izuku shook his head, and clenched his teeth, 'I can't lose focus here! I need to use All Might's ability, and _save myself from crashing!'_

He reeled back his punch, 'If my arm breaks, then I can't continue the exams! Even if I have 18 points—!'

Izuku felt uncertainty fill his being, as the road got closer and closer! 'Will 18 points be enough!? It's so small compared to everyone else! _How can I pass with just 18 points!?_ '

Izuku felt a scream piercing his throat, _but he still couldn't hear anything at all!_

Everything was silent, and it just made the fast-approaching demise that much more terrifying!

'I can't do it too soon, or too late, or _else I'd be paste!'_ Izuku felt fear frantically run up and down his spine, 'I have to do it! I have to do it, even if I won't be able to do the exam anymore! If I don't I'll…! I really will die—'

 ***SLAP!***

Izuku felt his cheeks burn a hot flash of pain, as his face forcefully tilted to his right, before feeling his body press upwards and made an incredibly fast stop—above the ground before he could crash into it.

He then felt gravity return, but his body only slammed uncomfortably onto the ground, his broken limbs rattling onto the floor.

He looked to his left to see the same girl that saved him from embarrassment, and immediately put two and two together, his eyes widening!

'She… saved my life! She must've broke my fall with her quirk!' His eyes meet the ground as he bit his lip, 'I really owe her for the save… but now—'

Izuku, using his free, fully-moving hand, he pressed hard on the ground, and pushed himself forward, moving at a snail's pace on the ground, 'Thanks to her, now I can have a chance to get more points!'

"I just…! Need…! More points!" Izuku cursed under his breath as he pushed at the ground, tears filling his cheeks, "I don't have… enough!"

" **_/73$ ^9!"**

Izuku thought he heard Present Mic for a second, but it only came to his ears as a mumbled mess. He could also hear the faint wailing of a siren, but thought nothing of it! Still pushing himself on the hard ground, his eyes darted past the watching examinees, looking for a robot that was moving.

"Just… two more points… at least! _Please!"_

* * *

Uraraka Ochako, the Zero-Gravity girl that saved Izuku from his fall, could be seen resting on the metal pile that was once a part of a robot she previously defeated.

Using this metal pile before to reach Izuku, she had to levitate herself, the pile, and eventually Izuku once she rose high enough to meet him head-on. Unable to handle the strain of it, along with the previous exhaustion she had after the duration of the exam… _she promptly puked out the contents of her lunch_ after she had released her quirk.

She overheard the young boy talking, about his points being too low, and felt immensely guilty for being a burden to him. Because of her, he would sacrifice a good amount of points that would've helped him pass the exam.

His sacrifice would not go in vain, she had decided, and made sure that after the written exam, she would head to where the Pro Heroes were, and ask for them to give him some of her points—Even if it costed her the chance of entering U.A as well!

" **TIME'S UP!"** Present Mic called, halting everyone's movements any further as a siren wailed to accompany the end of the Practical Exam. Uraraka's guilt for the boy—the hero that saved her, magnified, but felt too tired to make any motion to respond to it.

"Just… two more points… at least! _Please!"_

Uraraka Ochako was then confused, once the boy said that, and looked toward him only to see the man still moving against the ground, his eyes filled with tears.

'Did he not notice Present Mic say that the exam was over?...' Uraraka thought, tired, before feeling something warm and stick on her hand—the hand she used to slap Izuku, and therefore, use her quirk on him—

Her eyes widened, meeting her hand was a familiar, red liquid she knew all too well!

'…Blood!?' Uraraka felt her body stiffen, looking at the foreign substance, 'Is that from me!? But I didn't—'

She then looked towards Izuku, or rather, inspected Izuku's body. It didn't take long to notice that there was, indeed, blood present on his face—

Her eyes widened when she noticed the source of the blood: The man's ears were bleeding, profusely!

She immediately understood the situation he was in!

"He can't hear anything…!" Uraraka felt her previous fatigue leave her, as she carried her body and lifted herself off the heap of metal she used as a platform, "Oh God, he's deaf! The explosion from earlier…!"

She tripped on a spare pipe that was laying on the ground, "Gh!" she let out a grunt, but didn't stop, as she started crawling her way towards him, and grabbed his shirt, "Hey! Hey!"—

Uraraka then noticed the limbs that were sprawled around the floor, in irregular positions, and her eyes shook from the sight of them, 'He's—He's a mess! He can't go on like this!'

"Stop! Please!" She pleaded desperately, the guilt she felt from before making her voice emotional, catching the other examinees' attention.

* * *

Izuku felt a slight tug on his shirt, and felt muffled noises from his side. Curiosity getting the best of him, he looked to see the nice girl he saved—and saved him back, tugging on his shirt, kneeling toward him. He could easily tell she was tired, from the way her body was leaning, it desperately wanted to fall over, but her face—it screamed panic.

His attention was on her, as he wondered why she was so desperate looking at him, until she opened her mouth to speak—

"_534R M3!?"

Izuku blanched when he heard only muffles come out, and became incredibly confused as to why he couldn't hear her—

* * *

Judging by the look on his face, Ochako could tell he couldn't hear a thing he was saying, and tightened her face with determination.

She tilted her head slightly, so her ear was present, and she pointed toward it—

* * *

Izuku watched as the girl moved slightly, then suddenly pointed toward her ear.

He looked at the gesture with confusion—then, it _clicked_.

" _Can you hear me!?"_ That was what the girl said, but he could only tell from the way her lips moved—!

Which meant, 'No!'. He could not hear her… but why!?

It was then he felt, on the backs of his face, a foreign liquid that caused a minor irritation to his nerves.

With a shaky hand, using the only arm he had functioning, he pressed his ears, and felt something sticky and warm, drying up quickly on the sides of his face. His eyes narrowed, and he brought his hand to the front of his face—

Only to find his fingertips painted with blood—his blood!?

Could he not hear her, because his ears were damaged!?

Before he could even deduce what that meant in the grand scheme of things, he could feel the effects of everything—fatigue, blood loss, pain, all bringing his body to a cold, hard stop.

He passed out, on the spot, not knowing whether or not the Exam was finished.

* * *

Ochako could only watch as the boy fell down, stopping his movement entirely, and immediately thought the worst. With worried eyes, she looked towards the examinees, "S-Somebody, please help! This person is seriously hurt! Is anyone a doctor!?" She cried out, unsure whether to call 119 or not while being on U.A Grounds—

"Recovery Girl is who you'll need." She watched a blonde boy, with a calm demeanor on his face, step forward with a swish of his hair, "She's the very heart of U.A! If anyone is capable of healing him back to a hundred percent, it's her."

"Then, can somebody please find her, and get her here, quickly?!" Uraraka called, and some of the examinees looked towards one another, until—

"I'll go!" Uraraka looked towards a tall man with blue hair, his glasses shining against the sunlight, "I'll head back to the entrance, and ask the staff there for this 'Recovery Girl'!"

"A-All the way to the entrance!? Can you make it!?" Uraraka exclaimed in surprise, and the man nodded.

"With my quirk, it'll be easy." Facing away, he crouched into a runner's position, "Please keep watch over Izuku until then!" And with that, he made a run for it, his legs spewing fire as he reached incredible speeds.

Uraraka let out a heavy sigh, depending on the man to bring 'Recovery Girl' here quickly. He looked down at the boy that was on the ground, 'Izuku, huh…?' she thought, recalling what the man said.

She had a conflicted, troubled look sent towards Izuku, simply just worried that the boy was going to get himself in the hospital, just to save her.

But then, she thought of how quick he was to jump in and rescue her, as well as how strong he was defeating the robot with a single punch…

She then smiled, her eyes glowing with respect, 'Thank you for saving me, Izuku.'

* * *

"While what the boy did was _incredible_ …" Yagi watched the judges discuss amongst themselves, choosing not to opt in, "We simply cannot ignore the pure destruction caused by the quirk he has!" and Cementoss was just as harsh as he ever was against the boy.

Many judges have felt proud over what Izuku did in the situation, but only until have they assessed the damages did they take a more critical evaluation.

"But his quirk is incredible! Not to mention the pure potential it has with somebody who helps others, compared to that other boy, Bakugo, who simply chose to fight villains." Midnight spoke her reason, once again against the cement-covered hero, "To lose a boy like that, is to lose another great hero taught in our school—!"

"There are many great heroes here, Midnight-san... It would be unfair… to single out one boy among the rest." Ectoplasm spoke, as he looked at Cementoss, "And I agree with Cementoss… if he is to be taught here, it must be under a watchful eye."

"You're talking about not singling the audience out, aren't you!? Oh man, I can smell the irony from here!" Present Mic tuned in, "We need no watchful eyes in our school! That Rockstar just needs a bit more polish to shine bright, just like anybody else here at our school! I already know my rating!" he smiled, and a bling on his teeth could be seen.

"The boy certainly has the strength down," Power Loader began talking, "And his heroic deeds are not misplaced, but using moves like large explosions have to be taken into consideration and moderation, else they could easily be mislabeled as _acts of terrorism_ in the real world, rather than actions of a hero…"

"It's quite clear that our opinions for young Izuku Midoriya are spread out quite unevenly…" Nedzu nodded, hearing each of the judges' voices, and said heroes went silent to hear their 'leader' out, "But please, do not forget to factor in his previous actions beforehand, like we all previously agreed. He has saved three other examinees beforehand, not including young Tenya Iida, which we have already given a rating for.

This will be a total rating, one that adds onto Izuku's previous score of 15 rescue points." Nedzu looked onward to the screen, watching the young girl Izuku saved sit next to the boy's side, "And as heroes, you must recognize those that have budding talent, and those that have none whatsoever."

Nedzu looked at the judges, "Now then, everyone! Please give the ratings with fairness in mind! How much score does everyone deserve? Who has earned the privilege to be in U.A High?"

Yagi watched the discussion unfold before him, a feeling of uneasiness washing over his body, 'If he had just used One for All by itself, simply to enhance his strength, this… divide between the judges wouldn't have be made…'

Yagi proceeded to hold his head, a headache forming amongst the chatter of his neighbors, 'Young man… I pray that you haven't messed up your chances _, before they could even happen…!'_

* * *

"I'm _sooo_ jealous…!" an examinee commented from afar, and Uraraka bit her lip, ignoring the comment.

Currently, Uraraka was kneeling on the ground, with Izuku's head on her lap. Convinced that having the injured boy just lying on the ground wasn't suitable for the heroic deeds he had done for her, she took charge of the situation.

And the feedback was… less than desirable, to say the least.

"Oh man, that guy's seriously lucky!" another replied, and Uraraka bit her lip just a bit harder, "It's a shame that he's out cold! He'd be having the _time of his life!"_

'Just a bit longer, Ochako, you can do this!' Uraraka talked to herself in her head, mustering the courage not to attack the examinees that were embarrassing her right now, 'That guy said he'd come back as soon as possible, right. I'm sure he'll be coming any second—'

Ochako snapped back into attention when she heard the sound of a man running towards them, the other examinees' voices dying down shortly after.

She looked to see the man that said he would get Recovery Girl return, and noticed that he had—An elderly woman on his back!?

"My my, you young people sure know how to get around quick!" the Lady exclaimed mirthfully, not phased in the slightest at Iida's speed using his quirk.

"My sincerest apologies, but I had to bring you here as soon as possible! Like I said," He turned towards Ochako and Izuku, "It is of upmost importance!"

"Well now," She began walking up to the two, a big needle in her hand was used like a cane, "I don't suppose this boy is the one in need of attention?"

She then looked at Ochako and smiled, "How kind of you to lend this poor boy your lap! He really must be something to you—"

"Th-th-that's not it at all!" She exclaimed, blushing at the kind grandma's words, frantically waving her hands, "It's just—This man—I mean, this person saved me from the robot, and hurt himself for doing so! I didn't want him lying on the ground! So having him o-on my lap was the last I could do!" She spewed out her logic, and the Grandma just laughed.

"Sure, sure, I understand, dear!" She replied, and Uraraka's blush magnified!

" **I'm serious!"** She cried out in dismay, convinced that she was going to die in embarrassment!

Recovery Girl approached the duo, looking at Izuku more carefully, "Oh my goodness, you kids were right! He's got quite a few injuries on him, doesn't he?"

Without mentioning any more, her lips suddenly extended, right towards the top of the boy's head, catching everyone off guard as Izuku received a kiss from the old lady!

And _everyone_ reeled back in disgust, even Ochako, who had the front seats of the event!

"I'll take back what I said before, about that man being lucky," One of the examinees spoke up again, turning away from the sight, "Ew."

Ochako then noticed a green aura appear around Izuku, and all of his injuries began healing back up: His legs locked back into their normal shape, and his arm once again regained his normal color.

"There! Good as new!" The lady responded in kind, before facing the examinees, "Okay, line up everyone, I have something to give all of you—"

"Wait!" Ochako exclaimed, catching the old lady's attention, "I'm sorry, Ms. Recovery Girl, but he also couldn't hear me before! He might've gotten ear damage as well… Are you sure he's fine?" she asked, worried deeply for the boy that risked his life for hers. The old lady simply laughed.

"It's been a while since my quirk was tested, ho ho!" Recovery Girl laughed, before walking over to her, and held out her hand towards Ochako. Ochako blinked, before holding her hands out, and received—gummies? Bear gummies, to be exact. She gave the nurse a confused look.

"Worry not, dear, your friend will be just fine. But, since you're so concerned…" She looked towards the boy with the Engine Quirk, and spoke again, "Iida-kun, would you be so kind as to carry Izuku back to my office. Ask the staff back at the entrance, and they'll tell you where it is."

"Of course! I'd be glad to do this request for you, Ma'am!" Iida motioned towards Ochako and Izuku, picked the boy up carefully. Ochako, feeling the weight on her lap disappear, looked up towards Iida.

"I-Iida-kun!" Ochako stuttered, making sure she spoke his name correctly, and she received the attention of the young man, "Thank you for helping me out! M-my name's Ochako Uraraka! I hope we can be friends in the future!"

Iida blinked at the sudden friend request, before nodding all the same, "Mine is Tenya Iida, and I wish for the same as well, but," He looked at the boy on his back, a solemn smile on his face, "Save that thank you for Izuku here. After all, he's the one that saved you, right?"

"R—" Ochako nodded, happy to receive a positive response from the man, "Right!"

"Now all that is said and done, Everyone, come here and get some gummies from me!" Recovery Girl exclaimed, and the examinees approached her, "They'll give you back your strength for the Written Exam! Just make sure you eat only one at a time, okay?"

* * *

"Now then, do we have our ratings?" Nedzu asked the group, and the board of judges held out their signs, making their final decisions.

Yagi passed a glance at each of the points from their respective judges, and cursed under his breath, 'Yeah, there's no doubt about it… He's receiving less points than what he could've gotten…' He held his head, conflicted about the new information, about Izuku's sudden new quirk, 'Had Midoriya avoided giving off that huge explosion with both of his quirks, he would've received a near perfect score for just using One for All… but,'

'One the other hand, if Izuku's quirk hadn't shown up,' Yagi glanced at the huge board of points, rounded up to the top 500—

Soon noticing Izuku Midoriya, listed with '18 Villain Points' and '15 Rescue Points'—He was only ranked at the bottom 400s.

'He wouldn't've been able to use One for All anyway, if it meant destroying his body in order to do so…' Yagi played the scenario in his head multiple times, over and over again, and just kept thinking that Izuku would be unable to really defeat any robots with just One for All alone.

Yagi closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips, 'Maybe this was the better route after all...?'

"Then it's settled!" Nedzu exclaimed, and Yagi looked towards him with a worrisome look, as Nedzu gestured at the Faculty staff, "Staff, if you would be so kind to update the board, please?"

Nedzu's eyes beamed with light, "It's about time we got a good idea on who our next year's students will be."

Yagi watched the board flash, with all the new information present, and immediately noticed that Izuku Midoriya wasn't in the same spot as before. His eyes shifted to the higher numbers, from the 300s… to the 200s… to the 100s…!

'Oh my…!' Yagi's mouth opened wide, and his eyes widened at the sight, 'Izuku, you've actually…!'

* * *

Izuku Midoriya woke up to the pleasantly-unpleasant smell of Hospital Sheets and perfume, finding himself laying on one of its beds as an occupant.

"What… happened?" Izuku held his head, trying to remember the events that happened beforehand, "Did I black out?... Wait! Is the exam finished!?" He ripped the blankets of him, and jumped on his feet, "No way! I need to head to the Written Exam—"

"Relax, young man, relax." Izuku's body jumped at the sudden new voice, as he looked to see a small, old lady walk up to him with a needle-like-a-cane at hand, "There's no need to rush. You've just gotten out of bed, so you need time to recuperate." She spoke, and Izuku then realized who she was.

"Y-you're Recovery Girl!" Indeed, Izuku's research on the Pro Heroes of U.A certainly helped, as a pleased smile appeared on the lady's face at being recognized, "So that means… I had to be sent to your office to be healed?"

He then noticed his limbs being completely functional, compared to before when he used One for All with them, "You've healed me completely, a-and with such a short notice…!" Izuku looked at the doctor, "Thank you…!"

"You have no need to thank me young man. And it seems your ears are working just fine too, correct?" she spoke, and Izuku became confused.

"M-my ears?—" Before he remembered how he wasn't hearing anything, "Wait, my ears, were they injured, too!?"

"Yes, but they're all better now thanks to me." She spoke, before pointing at a monitor next to her, repeating the scene of him blowing up the giant 0-pointer, and Izuku gasped at seeing himself deliver such a _violent_ explosion to the robot.

"Th-that was… from me…?" Izuku asked, not once remembering seeing Kacchan display such a ferocious blast from his quirk. He looked down at his hand, 'Was this… because One for All strengthened my body as well?... Isn't it just a strength-enhancement quirk?...' he asked, and the lady coughed, giving him her attention.

"Young man, I'm not happy in the slightest for destroying your body the way you've did, protecting that girl." She spoke, and Izuku reeled back at the harsh words, "It seems to me like your quirk has just recently developed, with just how rash you were using it during the entirety of the exam."

" _What you did was complete overkill!"_ Izuku remembered Iida's words at that moment, and he looked down to the ground, as Recovery Girl continued.

"You could've seriously hurt yourself more, you know? You could've given yourself shellshock, or blown one of your limbs right off!" her voice turned harsher, and Izuku began sweating profusely, before looking at her slightly.

"Sh-shellshock…?" Izuku asked meekly, unsure whichever the two worst-case scenarios she mentioned was, well, _worse_.

"PTSD." She spoke like a knife was her tongue, cutting with such cold anger as Izuku shrunk again, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And with an explosion like that, you'd be hearing it, feeling it, non-stop, no matter if you were using it."

"My quirk can do many things, and judging by how you recognized me right away, you seem to know this," Recovery Girl continued, before pointing at him, "But it can't fix _everything!_ I can't make limbs magically grow back, nor can I fix any mental problems you incur on yourself!"

"The point, young man," she faced him completely, and held out her needle in front of her, placing it firmly on the ground, "Is to _never_ do _this_ again, you understand?"

"Ri-ri-right! I understand…!" Izuku squeaked out, in despair, and Recovery Girl couldn't help but sigh.

She glared at the boy, "You musn't use your quirk like you have today. Practice control, and discipline. _Never_ go out of bounds like this, or else you won't just risk hurting others… You will be hurting innocents, too!"

"I-Innocents?!..." Izuku spoke out loud, clenching his wrist hard at the info, 'Kacchan's quirk… She's right! I can't use it perfectly right now! If I were to use it among other heroes…!'

" _ **AH HA HA HA—"**_ A big kaboom appeared in his head, and what once stood All Might, stood only his All-Mighty shoes. Despite the comical image, Izuku paled horribly at the sight of accidently blowing up his role model.

"Take what I said today in consideration, and hopefully the next time I see you, you'll be in much better condition to use your quirk." Recovery Girl spoke, handing him some of the gummies that were given to the other examinees, as well as a pink note with written info on it.

"Take these gummies, one at a time, during the test. The info on that card will lead you to your room that will hold the written portion of the exam. I wish you luck." Recovery Girl finished her speech.

"Speaking—of which…!" Izuku immediately held back his voice that came out too loudly, and Recovery Girl looked back with a small, small look of irritation, "I got 18 points during the practical exam, defeating those robots… D-do I have a chance at getting into U.A…?!" Izuku asked, almost pleaded for the answer, and caught Recovery Girl slightly off guard.

For a moment Recovery Girl smiled, a which brought a glimmer of hope inside Izuku, until—

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she spoke, making Izuku blink in surprise as she continued, "That's not information I can give out freely. I apologize."

"Oh…" Izuku, not satisfied with the answer, looked down at the card given to him.

"But don't give up hope, Young Man!" he immediately looked back at Recovery Girl, who was giving him a thumbs-up, "Just perform as strongly as you did on the practical exam, onto the written exam, and it should all be worthwhile, I'm sure of it!"

"R-right!" Izuku, much more pleased hearing that, nodded, "I will!

"Just don't start exploding the room when you come across a hard question, okay dear?"

"I-I _won't_!" Izuku said in stark contrast to before, embarrassed by the old lady's words.

* * *

Izuku gulped loudly, as the only ones who were present in the room were him, and a weird sleeping, yellow _bag_ of a teacher laying on the ground. He was taking the exam, pencil in hand as he answered each question to the best of his ability.

For once, Izuku was happy that all of these answers seemed easy enough thanks to All Might's training plan, his studying seemingly paying off…

But Izuku's mind was rattled, swimming with questions that he could not find answers to…

Did he make it? With only 18 points, did he stand a chance at entering? Or was he doomed to fail despite taking the written portion right now?

Izuku's hand started shaking, as he felt almost helpless at the situation, hot tears already forming in the corner of his eyes.

" _Just perform as strongly as you did on the practical exam, onto the written exam, and it should all be worthwhile, I'm sure of it!"_ Despite how positive it sounded before, Izuku couldn't help but think about how general-sounding it was, and how it didn't say firmly to him, "Yes, you passed." Or "No, you failed."

" _Have faith, young Midoriya!"_ Just then, All Might's words rang clear, and Izuku's trembling ceased, as his face was filled with determination once again.

'I can't give up now! All Might's counting on me!' Izuku began furiously writing the answers once again, 'And I won't let him down!'

* * *

* _Yawn_!* The teacher was found standing once again, as he looked down at Izuku holding his exam properly, "Done already? That was quick… You didn't cheat, did you?"

Izuku stiffened, "N-No, of course not!"

"Good. Didn't want to go through the trouble of going through the camera footage." Izuku gasped, and looked around the room, something that he noticed, "Don't bother, it's well-hidden, you wouldn't know where to look anyway."

"O-oh…" Izuku then looked at the teacher holding out his hand, and followed with giving the papers to him.

"…" The teacher looked through the papers, making Izuku immensely nervous… before blanching once the teacher just _shrugged_ afterwards.

'Doesn't seem forged. Oh well.' "You'll want to make your way back to the entrance after getting your stuff. Within a week, you'll know whether or not you made it in. Take care." The teacher made a reach for his yellow sleeping bag, and Izuku blinked at his dismissal.

'Th-that's it, then? I have to wait a week to know if I pass or not…?' Izuku's hands clenched, as he willed the determination to ask one of the strongest questions, burning on his mind.

"Te-teacher, I—" Izuku started.

"It's Aizawa." Izuku recoiled at the sudden answer, suddenly meeting eye-to-eye with the person he was asking the question to.

"Th-Then, Aizawa-sensei!—"

" _ **Just**_ Aizawa." The man's tone was forceful, making Izuku shrink in shock,

"I'm not your teacher, unless you have a class with me." He explained, his voice commanding Izuku noticed, "Until then, it's Aizawa."

"O-okay… Aizawa…" Izuku gulped once again, before returning back to his senses, "I only received 18 villain points during the practical exam." Looking up at the not-his-teacher Aizawa, he continued, "Will it be enough for me to get into U.A?"

For a moment, Aizawa was silent, giving Izuku uncertainty, before he sighed deeply, something Izuku was not expecting, "Kid, I'm going to be frankly honest here… We teachers aren't allowed to give out answers to questions like that."

Izuku looked down, not sure whether he was expecting something different for an answer, until—

"But with a score like that… Then," Izuku looked up when Aizawa continued talking, only to be met with a hard glare,

"You should throw away the hope of getting into U.A, and instead start practicing more on your quirk for next year's exam."

Izuku blinked, then his face slowly turned into confusion.

"Wh-what?..." Izuku asked quietly, and the man snickered, _laughed_ at him!

"Don't 'What?' me, kid. You of all people should know the answer yourself." Aizawa shrugged, "I mean, 18 points alone is a _stretch_ to be Top 500, with how many participants coming in today. So, let's be realistic here…"

Izuku, hearing this, went numb, as the man walked towards the exit, "Unless you aced this written exam _with flying colors_ , which I assure you, _you haven't_ ," Izuku's heart throbbed at the awful words, preparing defenses once again after the longest time, since before All Might came into his life, "Then you won't be getting in that easily, unless by some stroke of luck, you manage to earn yourself a place at U.A, then you have proved me wrong."

"Don't get mad at me, kid. You wanted a straightforward answer." He called, and Izuku turned towards him, only for the teacher's back to face Izuku, "I'm only saying this for your own good. Goodbye."

Closing the door, Izuku stood in the middle of the classroom—A classroom he might never see again until next year.

Izuku felt hot tears trace down his cheek, but this time, he made no motion to stop him. A familiar feeling, of his glass world that he desperately tried to fix from before, ever since he was told he could become a hero…

 _Began shattering, once again._

* * *

Izuku had a shaded look on his face, as he walked past the entrance of the school, his hands holding firmly on the arms of his backpack as his eyes continuously met the ground, unable to look at U.A like he once did at the start.

His mind was clouded, with dark, depressive thoughts as every step he took away from the school, was akin to him stepping away from his dream as a Hero. He felt like he let everyone down… He felt like he let All Might down.

Maybe he just wasn't meant for One for All like he thought? Maybe he was just lucky to earn such a thing, and that was that?

No matter. He'll hear from All Might again soon, he was sure of it. Whether that was a good thing or not was to be decided—

"Ah, you!"

Izuku snapped out of his funk, and looked up to see, in his surprise, the girl he had saved earlier before. She had a bright smile, just like the start of the day, as she ran towards him.

"I'm surprised to see you out here so late! Must've taken the written exam after you woke up, huh?" She then pointed at him with mirth in her eyes, "You're name's Izuku, right?"

"H-how do you know my name?" Izuku responded, embarrassed, but not to his usual lengths like before. She gleamed.

"Iida-kun told me!—" she then caught herself, before rubbing the back of her head, "Er, I mean, he only told me your first name, so I don't really know your last name and—"

She coughed into her hand, catching herself before she could needlessly ramble, (rambling which amused Izuku to some extent) "My name's Ochako Uraraka!" she spoke, and Izuku blushed, receiving her name.

"Uraraka-san…" he whispered, and she nodded.

"Yep! Don't wear it out!" She exclaimed… before turning slightly red, looking at him, "And… thank you, for saving me back in the practical exam." She began, and Izuku silently gasped in remembrance.

"I'm… not sure if I could've escaped from that robot. I think…" she looked away, brushing her hair with her hand, "I think… you _really_ saved my life back then… so… Thank you, Izuku—"

"Don't…" Ochako looked back at him, to see the boy trembling, "Don't thank me… I've only… done, what a Hero would've done, at that moment…!"

"Izuku…?" Ochako asked, noticing his sorrowful tone, until he noticed his cheeks were shining, which meant…

"Why… are you crying…?" Ochako asked, concerned, as the man immediately moved his arm to wipe the tears away.

"Because…" he spoke, his voice in anguish, "I'm not a hero…! I'm just… a really, really lucky person…" he spoke with baited breaths, and Ochako was unsure what he was saying,

"But now… My luck's all…" he didn't finish that statement, as he trembled more ferociously.

"Izuku… how many points did you get in that exam?..." she asked with a bit of worry in her voice, and Izuku shook his head, and breathed deeply.

"Eighteen points." Izuku firmly responded, and Ochako winced, before smiling.

"Th-that's okay! Because… I've talked with the teachers myself!" She spoke, surprising Izuku, "I asked them to give some of my points, to you! And they said that wasn't needed! So surely, you must've passed!"

"Do you… know for sure? Did they say, 'Yes' or 'No' to you about me? About if I passed?" Izuku quizzed Ochako, and she reeled back slightly, not giving an answer for a few moments.

"No… they didn't." Ochako spoke, and Izuku nodded.

"Then it's the same." Izuku spoke, looking down at the ground, "The same as me, when I asked the teachers if my score would be enough… They all said some ambiguous answer…"

"Then you shouldn't give up so easily! —"

"But! —" Izuku felt more tears, felt more frustrated with himself at being so sad and pathetic in front of this girl, but he was just _so broken_ over today, broken and confused about he wanted to be!

"I asked the teacher that gave me my written exam, just him and me in a room together, after I finished the exam!"

" _But I must! What you did for me,"_ Iida's words rang in his head _, "Was a heroic act! And I respect that!"_

"I asked him if my points were enough to get into U.A… And… he laughed! Told me that 18 points wasn't enough to be even in the Top 500!" Izuku exclaimed, his frustration leaking out through his voice, and Ochako could only watch in silence as the man that saved her, broke down, "Even though I tried so, so hard to make it happen!—"

Izuku's eyes were clouded with misery, and it was shown in his voice, "To have a Pro Hero, laugh at me, at my dreams, like that! —"

"I almost… _don't want to be a Hero anymore—!"_

" _ **Don't say that!**_ " Ochako suddenly exclaimed, catching Izuku off guard at her sudden voice—

He felt his frustration leave him at that moment, when he noticed she was crying, and he was shocked.

"You'll make it!" Ochako spoke firmly, and for a second, Izuku felt that drive to be in U.A return after being gone for so long, "You'll make it… because Heroes were made here! And what you did for me…!"

'Was a heroic act…? Right…?' Izuku thought he knew the words that were coming, but—

"Was the _most_ _heroic_ thing," Izuku's eyes widened, at the girl that saved him shed tears with a smile, the same kind smile that greeted him back at the start of the day! "That any real Hero has ever done for me!"

"Uraraka… san!" Izuku whispered the name he just learned of, loudly, honestly at awe from what she was saying.

"And if this place doesn't recognize you for the Hero that you are…!" Ochako continued, her voice getting rough.

* * *

Yagi looked up at the boards, his eyes still in shock as he looked towards the top 20s, passing by…

 **[Tenya Iida: 9** **th** **Place || 52 Villain Points || 9 Rescue Points]**

'And to believe, I told you not to doubt yourself this morning…!' Yagi continued through the ranks.

 **[Ochako Uraraka: 3** **rd** **Place || 28 Villain Points || 45 Rescue Points]**

'But I couldn't help myself from doubting you, all the same!' Yagi exclaimed, ashamed of himself for, once again, not following his words to heart,

 **[Katsuki Bakugo: 2** **nd** **Place || 77 Villain Points || 0 Rescue Points]**

'Izuku Midoriya…' Yagi looked at the very top, his eyes shining with pride, as he settled on the name for first place—

 **[Izuku Midoriya: 1** **st** **Place || 18 Villain Points || 60 Rescue Points]**

'This will be a mistake,' His wrists tightening, Yagi grinned to himself, 'That I _won't_ be making again…!'

* * *

"Then…!" Ochako, her tears running freely, her face red from the emotions she felt, **"This place really shouldn't call itself the number one school for Heroes in the first place!"**

Izuku felt grounded onto the floor, his heart shaken by the sincerity of the words this girl was saying, as he found the courage to believe in himself that wasn't there before.

"So that's why," Ochako was wiping her face clear of the tears, and looked back at him with determination, "You'll make it into U.A! And we'll even be in the same class together! You and me!"

With the sun beating behind her, she seemed _radiant_! She was glowing, almost ethereal to Izuku! It was as if she was an angel, sent from heaven, to tell him not to give up!

 _And something tugged on his heart, that day._

Izuku's face heated up, but he couldn't find the words to protest against it, "Once we see each other again," Ochako continued, holding out a fist "We'll be working hard to become the best heroes possible!

"So don't give up just yet, you got that?!" She demanded an answer, and Izuku stepped forward.

"G- _Got it!_ " Izuku stuttered, but he meant his words a hundred percent. Ochako nodded.

"Good." She replied, before turning around, "It's a promise, then." Izuku faulted when he heard her say that. A promise!?—

" _I'll see you later_ , Izuku!" she exclaimed, and ran off before hearing his answer.

Izuku was silent, just as silent as he was before… but now, not so much depressed…

Rather, feeling hopeful, once again. Just those words from the kind girl—Ochako, rather, seemed to have stirred up an incredible feeling from him!

And also…

" _Well, I guess I'll see you inside!"_ He remembered what Ochako said at the start of the day, _"Bye!"_

'See you later'… just sounded _so_ much better at that moment, then 'Bye' for Izuku—

Izuku turned toward the school, the dawn's sunlight glowing on the edges of the school in a bright array of blue and orange. Izuku couldn't help but smile anyways at the sight of the school—and soon enough, it'll his school, without a doubt!

Because 'See you later' meant that they were sure to meet again, no matter what!

* * *

Izuku could be seen entering his house, the windows outside were black as it already became night, long before he could make it home.

After closing the door, he couldn't help but rest his back against it, bumping his head onto the wood as if to rid all the thoughts running through it. He needed a nice long bath, and his phone to check up on recent villain attacks, just something to ease his mind off things—

"Izuku!?" His mother called for him, and he opened his eyes to see her approach him, a worried hand close to her chest, as she walked over to him, "Izuku, honey, Are you okay? You've been gone for an awfully long time!"

She placed that worried hand on his shoulder, and he couldn't help but smile, "Is there something you'd like to talk about? Maybe about the exam? Did you pass?"

God, his mom really was worried about him. And yet, despite each question, he felt happier and happier just hearing her voice after so long. His stress, unwinding at the presence of his caring mother.

'Maybe…' Izuku thought, looking to his hand, 'It wouldn't be so bad to tell her everything?...'

"Izuku?..." He glanced at her, and she had a worried smile, "Come on, please talk to me dear…?"

"Mom… I…" Izuku laughed weakly, "There's so much to talk about… I don't know where to begin…"

"Well, we have the whole night to talk, don't we…?" he assured him, and a grand smile was on Izuku's face.

"Then… I guess…" He nodded, "I hope you're ready for a long night mom…"

"I'm ready for that, Izuku. Feel free to let it out, okay?" she spoke, and Izuku felt his face flush at her kind words, before looking at his arm. His look got serious once more.

"I'll start… by saying this… Mom,"—

Inko Midoriya was prepared for a lot of things, but jumped once she heard the sounds small explosions, like gunshots and firecrackers, and immediately turned defensive, "I-Izuku, what is—"

"It's me, Mom!" He immediately called her out, and she stopped as he lifted his arm—

 ***Pop! Pop!*** Only to be greeted by explosions, dancing around it. Her eyes widened as he continued.

"I finally…!" Izuku's voice cracked, as he had watery eyes appear once more, despite how hard he wanted to appear tough, "Have a quirk, Mom!..."

Indeed, Inko was prepared for a lot of things, but her son saying that he finally had a quirk, after all this time… that was not one of them.

Inko's watery eyes matched his, and he made a toothy smile that looked silly with his tears, "I'm… so happy for you, Izuku…! This is…!"

Inko suddenly wrapped her arms around him, and Izuku was careful not to press his exploding arm onto his own mother. He instead returned the hug as hard as he can with his other arm.

"This… _has_ to be a miracle…! I'm _so very happy_ for you, Izuku…!" she finally spoke her mind, and Izuku felt his heart clench,

"I know…!" He spoke roughly, his voice filled to the brim with happiness, "I feel… like I'm the luckiest person alive, right now…!'

* * *

Next Chapter: Down to Earth.

* * *

 **Like I said above, I'll be finishing a comic that announces the name of this quirk early. However, I simply cannot do the same for the story just yet, as this quirk has developed very recently, and needs time to manifest.**

 **So, if you REALLY want to know the name of the quirk, my precious readers, then stay tuned for an update that might appear on this page, or the next, depending on when I get it finished.**

 **So until then, keep reviewing (please! Even something simple like 'Good job!' is awesome to read! Tells me I'm doing something right!), and anyone new here can feel free to favorite and follow the story for future updates!**

 **Thanks for reading! Review responses are down below!**

* * *

 **ShiningStar32:** Of course, I'd give you an answer, and thanks for responding to my request. I promise it won't be long for each chapter to arrive, so the story should develop quite nicely on its own… hopefully!

Gravity field is, all I can say, a late-game move that Izuku and Uraraka develop together later into the story. But unfortunately, that's all I can say at the moment, need to keep the spoilers to a minimum after all.

Prepare yourself for the comic, however, **that move will premiere in the comic,** and you'll get to see what it looks like, at least! You have a nice day, too, buddy!

 **Superfanman217:** I'm all in for the comedy, trust me bud. I'm planning out interesting interactions that'll hopefully settle some of you harem-lovers down a bit. So look forward to it

 **Johnny Spectre:** 'Suukikyou Rishirou and his younger brother Ichirou'

Are these the names!? They seem wacky as hell lmao! Unfortunately the wiki says nothing about their names, but hopefully you have a source for it!

If you're talking about the 0-pointer scene with Uraraka, then hope you were prepared to be disappointed. After all, that was the prime reason why Izuku got in to U.A canon-wise, so it'd really make no sense to leave it out.

I gave Izuku more reasons why he gets into U.A in this story, though, using his new quirk and the like. Give me some points here lol.

 **Victorsmyname:** Ah, the very thing I dread: My readers being bored.

Yeah, my chapters have been intensely long lately, but that's only because I really don't want to spread scenes like this out into needless amounts of chapters. I try to streamline all the useless garbage that I could find, but sometimes scenes feel weaker in comparison when things get left out.

Hope you stick around buddy. I promise it'll get better!

 **Remzel Von Enili:** That's fine, call this ver. Of All for One whatever until its true name appears in the story. And for the feedback loop… Eh. I won't make it happen, simply because Izuku already owns the quirk by itself as a separate quirk, and it can't really be copied.

At best, he could only copy the original strength enhancing quirk that AforO gave his brother. OforA is a separate entity of its own.

 **Heikichi107:** You're fine man. Hell, I'll accept more reviews even if they were copies of themselves lmfao!

And I'm glad you're enjoying the ride so far. It's only going to get better. Like I said before, **I'm finishing up a comic that'll introduce the name to those that want to know it badly.** If you doubt my ability to make it happen at all, just look at the Art covers: They're all made by me so far.

(Unless you are on mobile, in which case, I apologize. Sorry you're missing out!)

 **GotTheMovesLikeYaeger:** Glad to hear it!

 **Lightning Destroyer:** Pretty much, yep. A fitting quirk for a hero, rather than a villain I might add.

And glad you're enjoying it! Stay tuned for more!

 **Indra Synthesis:** (Translates to: Too intense for me :')

Too intense. We've barely even started lol! (At least, I hope that's what it said. Can't be too sure with Google Translate these days! Appreciate your reviews nonetheless!)

And that's all guys! Hope to see you next time! Take care!


	4. Chapter 4 - Down to Earth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero Aca.**

 **EDIT: Review Responses are finally made. I apologize to anyone who waited!**

 **Doing doubles at work suck. Even worse if you get sick on your days off. Had to really break out the writing mojo to get this chapter done, freaking plus ultra'd my fingers right off.**

 **If you enjoy the content I bring you, please leave a review on this story, Favorite and Follow if you haven't already, and just stay awesome!**

 **Otherwise, enjoy the next chapter of 'My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!'**

* * *

"What're you feeling like eating today, honey?" Izuku's mom called over to him, who as sitting on the kitchen couch, holding his arm carefully, almost inspecting it.

"Do we have Katsudon, Mom?" Izuku asked, still looking at his hand, flexing it and observing...

"Of course, we do! But eyes towards me when talking, okay?" she gently scolded him, and he stiffened, "You're making me feel like you're talking to your new quirk instead of me. It's making me a bit jealous, you know?"

"D-don't be silly, Mom!" Izuku straightened up, his cheeks flushed, "Th-that's not the case here! I'm just making sure I'm not hurting myself, using Kacchan's quirk on accident!"

 _Looking back to this moment, finding out just how capable my quirk really was didn't take place in some groundbreaking moment. No epic death-battle, no ten-month training regime… nothing like that._

"Still calling it that?" She pouted, boiling up some hot water and preparing some spices, "You know it's your quirk, right, Izuku dear? You can't just keep putting yourself down like that, especially not to that ill-tempered boy Katsuki."

She grabbed a ladle, and pointed it at him, "That quirk's _your_ _own_ quirk now, not his! And you better make use of it, you understand?"

"Y-yeah!" Izuku exclaimed, trying to appease her mother before her attitude worsened.

 _The moment I found out, about my quirk's real ability, was actually very tame compared to back in the Entrance Exam, when it first showed up. It was more like a simple desire, really._

"You know, this 'Ochako' girl really sounds like the one for you, Izuku!" Inko suddenly said while they were eating their food, and Izuku choked on one of the pork cutlets, immediately after she said that!

*Cough! Cough!* _"M-Mom!?"_ Izuku cried out, embarrassed. She laughed.

" _What_? It's true!" She brushed back a little of her hair as he looked at her food, "Girls nowadays are all into makeup and keeping appearances. It's all 'smoke and mirrors', every one of them." She gently blew on her food, before eating meticulously, and swallowing,

"Having a girl that's upfront about everything is a great start for a relationship!" She pumped her fist, "It's a good foundation! The both of you can be honest with each other and work things out if times get rough!"

She held out a thumb, "I would support a relationship like that, a hundred percent!"

During her talk, Izuku got progressively redder and redder, until steam was billowing out of his ears! When she stopped, he then responded by jumping out of his seat!

"A-aren't we too young to have relationships like that yet, Mom!?" Izuku exclaimed, and his mom simply blew raspberries at the thought.

" _Pffft_ , 'too young'? You're going to High School, honey! You're going to be seeing couples whether you like it or not!" she waved her hand, and Izuku simply sulked into his seat.

"I should've never talked about her… Geez, this is so embarrassing…!" Izuku whispered, his face drained from stressing out too much.

"What's that, dear? Are you hiding stuff from me?" Inko curtly responded, hearing his whispers, and Izuku jumped back into attention!

"O-Of course not!"

 _A desire that became reality, and paved the route that I was going to take to become the Greatest Hero around! Where that route started, however,_

"A-alright, I'm finished with my food, Mom! I'll be heading upstairs now—"

"Before we do that, Izuku," said boy looked back to see her mom had a very conflicted look on her face, as she looked at him, "Let's talk for a bit, okay?"

"Uh," Izuku blinked, before nodding, "Sure?"

 _Was a little bit close to home._

* * *

 _Chapter 4 – Down to Earth_

* * *

"Sit down, please." Izuku followed his mom's advice, and took a seat back onto the wooden chair he was on before. Inko sighed, before looking up at him.

"I've… been thinking about what you said two days ago, that night when you returned from the Exam." She began, and Izuku's lips thinned a bit, as Inko looked away, "And, to be honest, a lot of it just seems… _crazy_ , you know?" she looked back at her son, and cleared her throat,

"You had to fight… robots, for this U.A's practical exam. That, alone, is plenty terrifying to me, but," She held her head, as the information she was speaking boggled her mind, "That's when, out of any quirk that could appear… it was Katsuki-chan's quirk that became yours. His quirk, of all things…"

"Mom… I'm… not sure where you're getting at here?" Izuku asked, confused despite being pretty knowledgeable when it came to his own mother. Her eyes softened, and Izuku watched her with baited breath.

"I'm… going to be a little selfish saying this… but why _wasn't_ it either your Father's quirk, or mine?" she began, and Izuku immediately realized where this conversation was going,

"I mean— I get it, my quirk might not be the bee's knees when it comes to beating robots up, and I'm not even sure if your dad's breath would get hot enough to melt the robots…!" she was twiddling with her fingers while saying this…

"But…" she shook her head, as if trying to swing away any thoughts that didn't make sense during this conversation, "It's kind of hard to understand why something like that has happened—I certainly had _no relations_ with Katsuki's father before I had you, and both me and your father know this, despite him being gone all the time at work!—"

Izuku's eyes widened when she said this, and immediately stood up.

"Th-that shouldn't be the case at all, Mom!" Izuku exclaimed, trying to make sure he dodged the landmine that he had avertedly set on accident for his parents—

She was worried that his father would take the news wrong! That his mom and Mr. Bakugo were instead the Mother and Father of Izuku, rather than his real father, Hisashi Midoriya!

That was something he couldn't afford to happen!

"I remember—back, when the robot cornered me, what happened!" He looked at his hand, as he continued, "I was scared, frightened even, but I couldn't help but to think how Kacchan would've handled the situation. I thought, hard, about what he would've done, and the answer was the same! —"

 ***Pop! Pawh!*** Izuku smiled, seeing his best friend's quirk, and Inko looked at his hand with mild shock,

"Blow it up. To smithereens. And leave nothing behind!" Izuku went back to having a serious face, as he looked at his mother, "That's all there really was to it! It was that passion, to become Kacchan, that gave me this quirk! —"

"Izuku, that's not it…" Inko shook her head solemnly, and Izuku stammered at how sad she sounded, "That doesn't explain where you got it from, or who you got it from… _That's_ what's important about your quirk right now!" she exclaimed, her eyes watering, and Izuku felt his grip on Kacchan's quirk slipping away.

"Your quirk, Izuku… I-It's an _enigma!_ It doesn't make sense—How, or why, you have the quirk!? It really shouldn't have existed in the first place! Y-You should've never had it to begin with!—"

" _ **Mom!"**_ Inko recoiled at the tone of voice her son gave her, and she looked back at him to see— Her eyes widened.

His face was straight, but his body was trembling, and his hands were clenched. A small indent on his face told her that he was biting his lip, obviously not pleased with yelling at her in the first place.

Tears rolled down his cheek as he spoke, his voice cracking, "You're… sounding a lot like… our Doctor, when he told me I was quirkless…!" He said, and Inko covered her mouth, tears of her own sprinkling her eyes.

"I'm… _I'm sorry_ , I didn't—" Inko's eyes lowered to the table, and Izuku sighed.

"It… It's fine, Mom…" with conflicted feelings himself, he turned away from her, "I'll just… be in my room, if you need me…"

He took a step, and then looked at her, with a sad smile, "Thank you for the meal." He finished, before continuing to his bedroom.

Inko couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. She cursed the emotions she was feeling right now, the conflicted mess between feeling proud of her son, for having such an incredible quirk, and for being scared stiff, at the implications of what that meant to her husband.

She really went out of line, saying something like that to her son, the one that's been keeping her company all this time, when her husband was away.

It torn her apart, seeing the look he gave her, and wished she could just forget it.

'Hisashi, dear… I really screwed up again, today…' she clenched her eyes, and held back more of her tears, 'What can I do to make this right? For you, me, and our dear son…?'

* * *

Izuku laid on the bed, facing up at the roof of his room, with a simple look of thought on his face.

What his mom said, out of the blue, hurt him quite a bit, sure… but something about what she said… kind of made sense to Izuku.

" _This is Kacchan's… Quirk! Why am I using Kacchan's Quirk—H-how am I using his quirk!?_ _ **What the heck is going on!?"**_

At that moment, back at the practical portion of the Entrance Exam, he was plenty confused himself at why or how he was able to wield Kacchan's quirk all of the sudden. It seemed just way to convenient at the moment.

When he was cornered, to simply think for the quirk, and then for it to magically appear just like that…

And back then, Izuku didn't even think about what having that quirk implied for his parents. He simply thought he had earned Kacchan's quirk… by wishing for it to come. It wasn't something genetic, or something that he was born to use.

It was a quirk that came to him when he needed the most. An awfully convenient quirk, for a scary and life-threatening moment…!

And Izuku pondered, 'Was it that simple?' he thought, looking at his hand, before raising it towards the ceiling, in a grabbing like motion, 'No… It's too easy. Something like that… can't be right…' he thought against it…

But then again, he had this desire, more so now than ever, to see if he could grasp another quirk just like he did with Kacchan's. And the first thought he had in his mind was—

His Mom's quirk, the Attraction of small objects.

Before now, Izuku selfishly thought that the quirk, by itself, was _useless_ for being a Hero. Being exposed to her quirk the most during childhood made him think like that. Simply because it only worked for small objects—for what reason, Izuku didn't understand why, and small objects weren't useful for saving others, or for beating up villains.

But now, after seeing so many quirks around him, from both Pro Heroes, and his potential classmates back at the Entrance Exam, he could already paint out a pretty picture in his head at what her quirk could be useful for…!

'Yeah!' Izuku exclaimed, his eyes closed as he imagined a scene, 'Something like…!'

* * *

 _In a villainous headquarters, perched on top of a mountain with thunderclouds cracking right above the sight, flashes of light could be seen in the window._

" _Bwa-Ha ha ha!" Some cloaked villain laughed loudly towards the sky, "Your match has come, Izuku Midoriya! Now I've got you trapped right where I want you!" he pointed towards Izuku, who was trapped in a cage of iron._

" _You'll never get away with this, you hear me!" Izuku exclaimed, holding the bars of said cage, snarling at the villain!_

 _The villain just scratched his ear, without a care in the world, "Or what? Like you can do anything in that cage! That cage was made to withstand against All Might's smashing abilities!"_

 _Izuku's eyes widened, as the villain laughed, "And don't even think about using that Explosion quirk! It's strong enough to withstand that as well! It's strong enough to withstand any quirk you hurl at it!"_

" _And now, watch…!" The villain hit a button, and out came Ochako Uraraka, who was also trapped in a cage as well, much to Izuku's surprise, "As I do unjust, villainy things to Ochako Uraraka here! Bwaha_ _ **haHAA!"**_

" _Uraraka-san!" Izuku exclaimed, and Ochako was surprised._

" _Izuku!" She cried out, her eyes watering, "This villain has trapped me! Please, you have to save me!" her voice made him revel with emotions, but he kept a straight face!_

" _Don't worry!" His eyes caught a particularly shiny object in the distance: A pair of keys sitting on the table, just out of his reach, "I already have an idea!"_

" _It's no use! You can't smash or blow up my cages! What can you hope to possibly do!?" The villain was laughing once again, but Izuku looked at the keys, and using his Mom's quirk—_

 _The keys were right in his hand, and he unlocked the cage with ease._

" _There's no way! You have not bested me yet, Izuku Midoriya!" The villain backed away, his form trembling, as Izuku smiled._

" _Have I?!" Izuku then reeled back a fist, and channeled One for All with ease,_ _ **"Smaaaash!"**_

 _The villain's headquarters crumbled down to the ground, and on top of the ashes, Izuku stood with Ochako in his arm, a dreamy look on her face, "My hero~!"_

 _And she gave a fat steamy kiss on Izuku's cheek, as Izuku laughed triumphant, like All Might!_

" _ **AH HA HA HA!"**_

* * *

"Yeah…" Izuku has a stupid-blushing face, as a little bit of drool came out of his lips, "Something like that…!" Izuku whispered like he was in the dream, feeling _bubbily_ over the idea of being the hero, and saving the day.

Izuku shook his head free of all silly Junior-High thoughts, and look down at his hand, trying to make sense of his thinking. He had to think realistic: Quirks don't work like that, do they? He wasn't simply going crazy, right?

Izuku noticed an All Might figurine just sitting on his desk next to him. Slowly, he reached his hand out towards it. Methodically he made movements with his outstretched hand.

 _He could see his notebook, unnumbered and unrecorded. Flipping through the pages, he saw his mom drawn on there, her quirk info—_

A frustrated look came on Izuku's face, as he stopped making those motions, only to look at his hand with an equal amount of confusion, "…I never really asked how her quirk worked in the first place, did I?"

 _Her quirk info was messy and dirty, as if somebody brushed the lead of the page before it could settle._

"Izuku? Dear?" Izuku blinked in surprised when he heard his mother's voice come through behind the door, muffled, "Are you in there?"

"U-Uh, yeah, Mom?" Izuku spoke, a little embarrassed at what he was doing earlier, as he looked at the door.

Surprisingly, however, she didn't make a move to enter his room, "I-I just wanted to apologize, about what I said at the table, earlier." Izuku's eyes widened a bit, as she continued, "What I said… wasn't right, a-and I was out of my line when saying it. You've always wanted to have a quirk, ever since you were little, and now that you have it…"

Izuku could hear her sigh behind the door, "I guess, all that I'm saying is… I'm sorry, and I'm still very happy that you have a quirk… I'm very happy for you, Izuku."

" _Mom, you're not wrong! There's more to this quirk than we both think, I just need to figure it out!"_

…was what he wanted to say, but thinking about how what he said came through in their last conversation—

" _That's all there really was to it! It was that passion, to become Kacchan, that gave me this quirk! —"_

" _That doesn't explain where you got it from, or who you got it from—"_

It would sound just as childish, if not more.

So Izuku decided to keep silent, and look down at his hand, just feeling evermore frustrated with himself.

"Just know that I _love_ you, Izuku. _Never_ forget that, okay?" Izuku bit his lip as his Mom's footsteps could be heard outside, getting softer and softer with every step as she moved away from his door.

Brushing his hair back, he took a deep breath, and thought rationally, 'Okay,' He initially thought, 'If I can't get any quirk that I don't know how to do,' He looked at his hands once again—

 ***Pop!*** His hand suddenly cracked with an explosion, and Izuku naturally smirked at the power he felt, using Kacchan's quirk, 'Then I might as well work with what I have now!'

Izuku decided, as he laid on the bed and held out his hand right in front of him, that he wasn't going to train Kacchan's quirk, rather—

 ***Pop, Pop—Fshhhh!*** Kacchan's quirk abrupted stopped, as Izuku closed his eyes… and felt the feeling of shutting off his quirk. Then…

* **Pawp**!* Izuku's quirk came back, and said boy nodded as he felt it. That _ting_. The spark, in the back of his head.

 ***Fshhh…!*** Izuku nodded again, feeling the spark fade into nothing.

—Izuku worked on tuning the feeling he felt, when activating his quirk, and deactivating it as well.

* * *

Before the green-headed boy knew it, it was already dinner time.

And judging by the awful atmosphere that was left the last time him and his Mom ate, it wasn't going to be a very talkative one.

Izuku found himself twirling the fork he was given to him, finding it more interesting than the food itself. Inko took it as a sign of being impassive towards her, and naturally gave in her bad habits: She began eating her food a bit faster than usual.

That is, until Izuku finally spoke up, "Hey, Mom?"

Inko choked on her food a little, before grabbing a napkin and patting her mouth with it, "Y-yes, what is it, dear?"

"How…" Izuku narrowed his eyes, trying to find the words to speak his mind, until speaking again, "How does your quirk… work, exactly?"

"M-My quirk?" His mom repeated, before she pondered the thought herself, until she looked at the salt shaker in the middle of the table and smiled, "Well, th-that's easy, Izuku!" seeing how she was stuttering, she placed a hand on her chest, and controlled her breathing, something that Izuku noticed, but paid no attention to.

"My quirk is attracting small objects—but, you know that pretty well, don't you honey?" Seeing Izuku nod, she continued, "Well, the way I see it, is that my quirk's, well… A Helping Hand, really." Izuku's eyes widened, as she continued.

"I'm only able to pick up the objects that fit in my own hand, per se." She made grabbing motions with her hand, towards the salt shaker, and said object floated harmlessly towards Izuku's mom, "I simply motion for the object to come closer, and my Helping Hand brings it around towards me," She grabbed the shaker when it came close to her, and smiled with it next to her face, "See?"

"Although," Her look drifted to that of a scolded puppy, but she had a smile nonetheless, "It's nothing special compared to your friend Katsuki's quirk, isn't it?—"

"That's _exactly_ it!" Inko jumped when Izuku—well, jumped out of his seat literally, both of his arms on the table, towering over his plate of food, "A Helping Hand! It makes so much more sense!" She watched as Izuku looked at his hands,

"It makes little sense to be called 'Attraction of Small Objects' because you don't attract _every_ small object at once, nor is it simply telekinesis because the object is never _thrown_!" Izuku put out fingers with each fact he spoke of, and Inko just watched until—

Izuku looked at Inko with an intense look, "Why didn't you change the name of the quirk to something else, Mom? That makes so much more sense, 'Helping Hand'!" Izuku asked, or rather yelled. Inko looked away, slightly blushing with embarrassment.

"I-I didn't see the point of changing my Quirk's name, really… I didn't think it was all that important, dear." She replied, and Izuku shook his head.

"No, it's very important mom! For Heroes, their quirk means just as much as their costume, their hero name, their identity!" Izuku spoke proudly, and Inko let out a short laugh.

"What are you talking about, Izuku?" She joked around, and Izuku's lips thinned, "I'm not a hero, silly—"

"But you _are_ , Mom! You're _**my**_ hero!" Izuku spoke firmly, effectively silencing her, as tears became apparent on her eyes. She put her hands to her mouth, covering it.

"I-I-Izuku!—"

"Mom…" Izuku spoke, gaining her attention. He took a deep breath, before saying…!

"Can you put that salt shaker on the table, please?"

Inko's eyes blinked. Twice. Before feeling just a _little_ part of her fall over _and laugh itself to embarrassment_ at Izuku's sudden request.

Regardless, she nodded, "Oh… Okay, honey?" and placed the shaker onto the table.

Izuku, still standing, took yet another deep breath before holding out his arm, placing his other arm below it to give support. Izuku's mind then began racing.

'It's not _just_ attraction…' He began thinking, and closed his eyes, awaiting a certain feeling to appear in the back of his head.

 _It was… sort of like… A page… being opened in a notebook…_

'Rather…' Izuku thought again.

 _He felt one of the notebooks, his notebooks, being opened wide, revealing… a page with info on his mom, her quirk and all the abilities she could do with it…_

'It's a…' _Giving Izuku his toy back, helping him reach the cereal, bringing the covers over him and his mom after talking about a nightmare… All seemingly mundane things._

 _That made his mom_ _ **, a Hero**_ _, in his eyes,_ 'Helping Hand…!'

 ***Rrrip!***

"There!" Izuku couldn't help but exclaim, making Inko jump for the fourth (fifth?) time today.

Izuku faced the salt shaker, and in an adrenaline-fueled rush, he pulled hard on it from afar—

 ***THWACK! !***

" **OW!?"** Izuku yelped loudly, falling on top of the chair with force enough to tumble over onto the floor, as Izuku held both sides of his head, "Ow ow ow! That really hurt…!"

"I-Izuku…!?" Inko gasped, and he opened his eyes towards her, then looked back at the floor to see what hit him—

The salt shaker, rather, the one he was aiming for, was on it's side, on the floor, salt sprayed all over the place… and Izuku gasped.

At first… there was silence. Only the sound of birds chirping outside, as the both of them processed what actually happened… until—

"Izuku—You—You actually…!" Izuku then heard his mom… hyperventilate!? He quickly got up.

"Mom? Mom?! Breathe, mom! Breathe!" Izuku exclaimed, rushing over to her side, as she held a crazy look on her face.

"Izuku! My baby, Izuku! He has my quirk!" Hearing this himself, he couldn't help but smile despite the situation, "He has my quirk!—He has my quirk!—Oh my god! Ooh my…! Oh my…!"

Izuku watched his mom flop over her chair, passed out, and almost panicked…

Before sighing, "Well… Can't say something like this _wasn't_ going to happen, Izuku…"

Despite that, Izuku couldn't help but feel giddy, feel excited, 'I knew it wasn't just Kacchan's quirk! Now…!' Izuku glanced at the salt shaker that was on the ground, and pulled it towards him. The salt shaker started floating towards the boy, as he pulled, and pulled—

Until it was simply right in front of him—just like the demonstration that his mom showed him, earlier! A toothy grin was on his face, 'I can use my Mom's quirk as well!'

* * *

"Hi! Can I speak to Hisashi Midoriya, please?" Izuku heard his mom over at the front lobby, on the phone ringing his Dad up. Before, she was hesitant about calling his father over Kacchan's quirk, which made him a bit sad—

But now, as Izuku jumped back and forth between each side of the room, he played with his new quirk, moving a small black remote across the room until it reached him—only then for the remote to float aimlessly as Izuku made his way to the other side of the room, before repeating himself again.

"It's his wife, Inko Midoriya… Thank you." Despite that, her voice was awfully calm. Izuku had second thoughts over whether his mom was really eager about the development, until—"Hisashi? _Honey_! Honey, I've got some great news to tell you!" she was actually almost _yelling_ to his dad, and Izuku sighed in relief.

"What—No, Izuku didn't get _laid_ , you big buffoon!" Izuku's face turned bright red at this, and he lost control over the black remote he was practicing his quirk on, feeling sheepish at that comment, "No, even better! Our boy—he's got a quirk now!"

Izuku smiled, as Inko's face radiated with pure joy, "Not a mix, honey! It's my quirk!" She paused, waiting for his response, and she laughed, "Now's not the time to get jealous, dear! We've had this talk before we had Izuku—It was going to be my quirk that our sweet angel was getting!"

Izuku felt like laughing himself overhearing his parents talk so joyously over his development. His smile turned into a sad smile as he looked at his hands—How easy could it have been for it to just be his best friend's quirk? Had he not found the inspiration to figure out how his mom's quirk worked, what would that conversation have been like? —

Shaking his head, Izuku decided not to dwell on those thoughts any longer, feeling more confident about now than ever before—He has mom's quirk now, and it was incredibly easy to get, too! It was just a matter of understanding, and application!

…So… with that thought… Shouldn't his dad's quirk be just as easy…?

"Izuku, honey!" The boy heard his mom call out his name, and he looked over to his mom to see her, hold out a phone, "Daddy wants to have a talk with you, okay?"

* * *

[Um…] Outside of a well-established, five-star restaurant located in Hollywood, a man holding a property-owned phone in his ear perched up at the sound of his son, [Dad? Hey…]

"How're you doing, champ?" The man's rough, coarse voice came out, as he flicked the butt of a cigarette awaiting his response.

[U-uh, pretty good! Wh-what about you?] Izuku exclaimed through the phone, and the man chuckled, watching taxis and cars pass by.

"Just fine… A little lonely, but hey," the man, Hisashi Midoriya, closed his eyes, "Hearing you two makes it worthwhile."

* * *

'Dad…' Izuku's eyes watered, as his mouth became parched, 'There's so much that's happened…'

[You really surprised me you know? I never thought my son was gonna beat the odds and get himself a Quirk,] the man on the other side of the phone laughed, [Color me shocked, Izuku… You really know how to catch a man off guard.]

"Ye-yeah…" Izuku scratched his cheek, feeling a little flushed, "I'm just… full of surprises, aren't I?"

'Meeting All Might… Applying to U.A… talking to Uraraka-san…!' Izuku felt tears in his eyes, but regardless, he kept smiling, happy to hear his father again, despite it being behind a phone, 'There's so, so much I want to say…! But…!'

[I'm proud of you, kid.] Izuku gasped silently at that, his lips trembling, [And I _really_ , _really_ miss you both.]

"H-Huh…?" Izuku let out a silent whisper, but his father caught it.

[You're crying, aren't ya kiddo?] Izuku, hearing this, immediately went to wipe off his eyes.

"N-No, I'm not, I'm just—"

[Nah nah nah… Can't fool me with that voice, boya. I can hear it miles away.] Izuku stopped his useless attempts at wiping his tears, and looking at his mom, he could see her tearing up as well, [You know it ain't manly to cry in front of a lady, right?]

"But It's my Mom, y-you big buffoon!"

[Hey—your Mom can get away with that, but you on the other hand…!] He could hear him sigh, and Izuku laughed quietly, [You get a freebie, kid. You earned it.]

"Dad…" Izuku stopped talking, and looked down at the ground, at his feet… then at his free hand…

 _Shouldn't his dad's quirk be just as easy…?_

[Like I've said, Izuku, you've made me proud.] His dad could be heard through the phone, [I've gotta take off. Looks like the breakfast rush is coming in.]

"Breakfast?—Wait, Dad, hold on!" Izuku, snapping out of his confusion, spoke loudly, much different, "Dad… How does your quirk work, again!?"

[…What? My quirk?] His dad sounded surprised, as if not expecting a question like that, [You gotta know it isn't the Quirk that works and pays the bills, it's your dad that works—]

"S-Stop with the Dad Jokes, dad!" Izuku cried out in embarrassment, and he could hear his father laugh on the other side, "Tell me! Before you go! _Please_!"

"Izuku…?" he looked at his mom, who was slightly concerned at how demanding he was sounding. But Izuku kept firm, nonetheless.

[Well, if you insist…] Izuku smiled, hearing his dad agree to speaking, [Not sure why you're suddenly so into your old man's quirk, but hey, how can I refuse…?]

Izuku keeping quiet, heard his dad clear his throat, [So, my Quirk _, Fire Breath_ … It's like breathing hot air through your mouth, like how you blow on your hands to keep warm during the winter?]

Despite being on the phone, Izuku nodded as if to agree with his statement, [Well… just think, 'Hotter' than that. I hold my breath for… eh, a good four or five seconds, let the heat really sink in my cheeks, then…]

* * *

In public display, that man with the phone blew hot flames up into the air, from his mouth, as sparks of fire billowed into the wind. That area felt just a few degrees hotter at that moment.

"I blow… Simple, right?" He spoke to his phone, and smiled at the response,

[I see.] The man let out a chuckle, before—[Hey, Mom, can you talk to Dad for a second?]

"Huh?" he curtly responded, a freckle of flame coming out of his mouth as a response.

* * *

Izuku opened a window towards outside, and leaned out to make sure there was no leaves or trees surrounding the area.

"Er, I don't know honey, he just opened a window, but he looks kind of intense…" Inko could be heard talking to the phone, and Izuku nodded.

'There. This should be a good spot…' Izuku, putting his footing on the ground, took a deep breath… then held it!

"He's… holding his breath dear… I'm not sure why, though…" Inko made a comment, not being able to hear his and Dad's conversation on the phone earlier.

[What...!?] Izuku couldn't hear it, but Inko heard how surprised his father was.

Izuku felt his breath get hot—but it wasn't intense enough, Izuku noted. His mind pressed his thoughts away from the task at hand, and focused.

'Because of Dad, I was able to go and complete All Might's training without a hitch,' Izuku began thinking—

 _And felt the very same notebook, in the back of his head, starting to open,_ 'His work is keeping our family secure financially! Even though he's not around as much as mom is, he tries to keep in touch…!'

 _A page opened to his dad, drawn poorly in a tuxedo with fire going out of his nose_ , 'He's like a machine… working hard overseas, just to keep Mom and I together…!'

 _He reached out to grab for the page, and firmly grasped it_ , 'So that's why…! Just like Mom…!'

' **He's a hero, too!'**

 ***Rrrrip!***

Before Izuku could feel the tingle of acquiring a quirk, he felt his cheeks become hotter, _and hotter,_ _ **and hotter!**_ Izuku felt the searing heat, like a bathtub with the heat valve turned way up!

But no matter how hot it was, it never got to a point of burning his skin, rather, it was moving wildly, in his mouth, ready to burst…! Until…!

' **Now!'** And Indeed, Izuku blew—

And out. Came. **Flame**!

Izuku watched the intense flame blow wildly out the window, before quickly dispersing into sparks and lights in the dim night sky.

His eyes watered as he watched—this was the closest he ever felt to his father! 'Dad…! I have it…!'

"Honey, _Oh my God,_ _ **Honey**_ _!_ ! He has it! It's a miracle!" Inko became a crying mess, as he fluttered her hand in front of her facing watching the scene in front of her, "He has your quirk, too! _He has your quirk, too! !_ _ **Oh my God! ! !"**_

The man was sitting on the floor, one leg outstretched as he covered his eyes with his big hand, his other hand holding the phone.

"R… Really now…" He spoke, his voice cracking, and his shoulders trembled fiercely. Hearing excited responses, ones that couldn't be heard properly from outsiders, all he could do was laugh.

And cry. Like the man he was, "Damn… _God Damn_ … Izuku… You really can make an old man, proud, huh...?"

Izuku, billowing that last of his fire breath, smiled towards his mom and made his way towards her, "Put it on 'speaker', Mom!"

"O-Okay, dear!" Inko couldn't help but agree as she pressed the button he mentioned.

"Hey, Dad!" Izuku exclaimed, and he could hear sniffles in the phone.

[Wh… What is it, Izuku?] Izuku couldn't help but laugh at the voice his father had,

"I thought men didn't cry, Dad!?" Izuku laughed, and both Inko and Hisashi laughed as well.

[D-Damn it, you got me…!] he exclaimed, adding fuel to their laughing stock.

"Once you get back home, Dad," Izuku began, catching both Inko and Hisashi's attention, "The first thing we're doing… is having a contest to see who can blow flames the farthest!"

[Really, now?] Izuku's Dad began, [Now I've heard of pissing contests, but this is something else!—]

"Dad!?" Izuku reeled back at his father's crude humor, but nonetheless, the man laughed.

[I kid, I kid. You're on, Izuku.] The man challenged, and both Izuku and Inko smiled bright, [Once I get my vacation, that's going to be the first thing I do!]

Both of Inko and Izuku's smiles wilted to that of sad ones, bringing them back to reality, but Izuku shook his head, "Come home soon, okay… And Dad!"

[What?] Izuku held back tears, until he spoke firmly,

'I love you!" Izuku spoke loudly, and Inko felt tears of her own come up.

[… I love you too, Izuku.] His dad came through, and Izuku nodded, smiling some more, [Stay safe, kid. I'll be home before you know it.]

"R…" Izuku wiped his face, before speaking, "Right!"

* * *

Izuku and Inko laid on the couch, watching some family-movie they found on TV. Inko rested her head on Izuku's stiff shoulder before talking.

"Izuku… Today, you've made your father the happiest I've ever heard him… You know that, right?"

"Yeah…" Izuku looked away, "Wish we could see him though…" he spoke, a little downtrodden at that fact, and Inko was the same.

"He'll be back, Izuku. Just be patient okay…?" Inko spoke, but her voice was a little uneasy as well, "He never lies about something like that, you know!"

"Of course, Mom… It's just…" Izuku, once again, was looking at his hands, "So much has been happening… that I just want him to see it here, now." Izuku smiled a sad smile, "I want him here… so badly…"

"Me too, baby, me too." Inko called to him, and wrapped him in a hug, which he warmly accepted, "And who knows? When you become a hero, you'll be able to bring him back too, won't you?"

Izuku's eyes widened when she said that. How could he have forgot? Heroes… they get paid for their work, don't they!?

In their line of duty, with their Morality Rate so high, get paid tremendously for their duties as Heroes—In fact, All Might, being Number One, should be loaded with cash right now from what he does, shouldn't he?!

Izuku was not one for considering Heroes as a source of income, rather he just thought of Heroes as idols, all the same! Untouchable, perfect figures high in the sky, that Izuku aimed to reach someday—Right next to All Might, in the Stratosphere!

But even then, after having the conversation between him, his Mom, and his Dad, Izuku's thoughts reflected a little bit… back to home, to his family, and to the life he was living right now.

"Yeah, you're right…!" Izuku broke from the hug, smiling, "Once I become the Greatest Hero, I can bring Dad back…! And with this quirk!"

Indeed, his quirk, along with All Might's One for All, was going to be the ticket to the heavens, wasn't it? He already put up his very best show, trying to enter U.A…

But even if he didn't make it, it wasn't going to be _the end of the world_ , was it?

Izuku stood up, firmly clenching his hands while looking at his Mom, who was still sitting on the couch, "We'll be like a family again!"

He already had all his 'tools' to work with. And if he didn't make it, then… Maybe it was better for him to be grounded back to reality, for his thoughts to focus back _down to Earth_ , with his family, rather than the skies his idols all but took up?

'Oh, Izuku…!' Inko couldn't help but feel happy with Izuku's new resolve, before laughing, "Even then, dear, you're making a big statement, saying that our quirks will get you to be number one—"

"Mom, it's not just both of your quirks…!" Izuku said firmly, catching her off guard, as Izuku's eyes narrowed,

"Your Quirk, Dad's Quirk, even Kacchan's Quirk…!" For a second, Inko completely forgot about his best friend, during their family moment, but it was brought back to her attention once more.

Izuku held out a fist in front of his face, and looked at it, "I've been thinking for so long now, it just didn't make sense to me—but now it does! This Quirk is more than it seems! Those Quirks before just branched off of another Quirk!— An incredible ability! —" He cleared his throat, before he could mumble any further.

"Mom…!" He spoke, as if surprised, but his face held no doubt whatsoever, "I have a Quirk… _**That lets me copy others' Quirks! ! !"**_

* * *

One week later…

* * *

A week has passed ever since he talked with his dad and acquired both his and his Mom's quirks. Until now, he's rummaged through his notebooks, and scrapped up every volume since his first one, looking through the pages and observed all the heroes and their quirks.

Izuku didn't need to think about who's quirk he should've copied first, back then. Out of eagerness and excitement alone, he thought of the next big quirk he could think of—The Number Two Hero, Endeavor!

… If it wasn't for his mom, he could've easily burned the house down, and all his notebooks with it! (Ironically, he wasn't sure which was more important at that moment!)

It was immediately then that Izuku realized his quirk had limits—And they were some pretty big limits, he noted.

Izuku could copy **Emitter Quirks** fine. He acquired some of the best quirks used by heroes like Endeavor and Best Jeanist… only to find out his control over them was pure and utter garbage!

Endeavor's quirk **Hell Flame** burned like hell compared to his father's quirk, **Fire Breath,** as it encompassed his outer frame wildly, enough to start a fire on _the hard floor_ he was on! Inko quickly doused him with fire extinguisher fluid, and despite it being dangerous, Izuku found himself surprisingly unharmed—just a bit shocked at best!

Best Jeanist was a joke compared to endeavor—Using his quirk, **Fiber Manipulation** , Izuku could only maintain one fiber at a time, and ended up using all of the fiber on his shirt, making it entirely disappear into a pile of thread. Izuku could only cry half-naked, as he ended screwing up one his favorite shirts, the plaster of All Might's face sitting on top of the thread pile, almost as if to insult Izuku.

Deciding on starting small afterwards, Izuku looked into the new and rising heroes, Deathgoro, Mt. Lady, Backdraft the Fire Hydrant Hero, and Kamui Woods. The ones he saw from the attack on the day Bakugo blew up his latest notebook.

Their quirks were still written nicely on the burnt pages of his notebook, Izuku could remember, so he had no trouble interpreting what he wrote that day… but he came across yet another cliff.

Once again, his control with emitter quirks were utter garbage, as he only shot out small jets of water from his hand using Backdraft's quirk **Hydrokinesis** , and grew small twigs out of his hands using Kamui Wood's quirk **Lumber** , which, by itself, was disappointing to say the least…

But what confused Izuku… was the fact that he had no _**acquirement**_ of Mt. Lady's or Deathgoro's quirks. No spark or ability to use said quirks… nothing.

It was then that Izuku realized something awful… While **Emitter Quirks** were something he acquired so easily, he had no real way of acquiring **Mutant or Transform/Hybrid Quirks.**

Izuku deducted that those quirks were something that shaped the body into its desired state, changes that happened during crucial moments in a person's life, like Growth Spurts or Puberty—something that he's _long_ since passed.

The quirk melded its user to be perfectly capable of handling the quirk, and afterwards, the person learned to manage and use that quirk to his or her ability…

Izuku just simply _couldn't_ do all of that, with the quirk he has now… It didn't change his body, made it different, made it special… It only allowed him to use other's quirks, nothing more, nothing less.

It was one hefty roadblock… but Izuku wasn't no idiot. He knew there had to be a loophole, somewhere.

There had to be a quirk… that either _created matter out of thin air_ , that he could use on himself… or a quirk that would let him _change his body freely, to whatever he desired_ …!

But, where did a quirk like that exist, however? There wasn't a single Pro Hero that existed in Japan, much to Izuku's knowledge.

Today, he found himself biting the top of his pencil, trying to keep his cool despite the frustration he felt kicking in. With the emitter quirks he knew, only his Mom, Dad, and Kacchan's were the best ones he had… everything else was just counterfeit, nothing compared to the real heroes' quirks.

Maybe there was more to it than Izuku initially thought? More than just knowing the fuction, then putting in application of the quirk.

Was there a third step…?

What was different…? Between His parents and Kacchan, compared to everyone else in this big, wide world?

"I-I-I- _Izuku_!" Izuku could hear his mom frantically enter his room without notice, and his eyes blinked, before looking down at what she had in her hand!—

It was a plain white letter… with a 'U.A' stamped on the folds in front, and Izuku immediately knew…!

"It's here!" Inko cried out, and Izuku slowly nodded… reaching out for the letter.

His fate… was sealed inside…!

* * *

While Inko was pacing back and forth outside his door, Izuku shut off the lights, only leaving his desk lamp on, as he crudely stared at the envelope in front of him.

It was on the back of his mind until now, this letter, this seal of… something… whether it'd be approval or dismissal, Izuku did not know.

Izuku had a lot of questions. Why did he get this letter? Didn't he fail? Were they rubbing it in?

Did he actually make it in? Was he successful in taking his first steps in becoming a Hero?

" _Once we see each other again," Ochako continued, holding out a fist "We'll be working hard to become the best heroes possible! —"_

Was Uraraka-san right in believing in him? Or was he never going to see her again, after reading this letter-!

Rgggh! Izuku was already frustrated enough, with the way his perfect quirk suddenly became imperfect!The wait was killing him! It was time, now or _never_!

With a fierce tug, Izuku ripped the envelope in half, a plenty-stupid decision if he had a letter inside it—

But instead, a small, black disk jumped out, and hit itself on Izuku's desk, and before he knew it—

A large, bright projection appeared in front of him! And on it!—

[Testing, One, Two…!?] All Might, decked in a brilliant gold suit, was in front of him talking! [Is this thing even on!?]

"A-All Might!?" Izuku couldn't help but gasp, remembering how he hadn't seen him since the day of the Entrance Exam. His eyes widened comically, as he looked back at the ripped-up envelope, making sure the location was right, "This-This is from U.A, right!? What the heck is going on!?"

[I humbly apologize, Izuku Midoriya! This presentation took some time, and some troubles, to make properly! That's **MY** bad!] All Might spoke gallantly, through the screen, and Izuku couldn't help but be at awe once again, at his idol. Incredibly _**confused**_ awe, but awe nonetheless.

[I wasn't allowed to say this to you earlier, but I have a job of teaching bright students now, here at U.A. You can bet on seeing each other more often, okay!?] All Might exclaimed, and Izuku just felt more surprised.

'All Might's… at U.A? He's a _teacher_!?'

[What's that, citizen? Turn to the other camera!?] All Might let out a huff, and Izuku could note a small bit of frustration coming out of his breath, [I was in the middle of telling something important to the boy—What? You'll fix it after this presentation? Ah, whatever!]

[Izuku Midoriya,] All Might began, and Izuku's eyes narrowed, his butt clenched… this was going to be it! Do or die! Now or never! [You passed the written exam just fine… But,]

Izuku gulped, [With only 18 points on the practical…]

[You failed.]

Izuku felt his breath taken away, and a cold surge of dread washed over his heart, like ice. Reality started to kick in, and Izuku could already feel tears welling up.

He… failed. Wow… No matter how hard he hoped for it to be the opposite, how much his peers and family rooted for him… this world seemed to still kick him where it hurts…!

And God… Oh _God_ , did it hurt…!

But still, 'I knew that…!' Izuku whispered, tears finally rolling down his cheeks as he said that, with a grim smile on his face, 'I really wanted to believe…! Believe in myself for once…! _**But…!'**_

 _ **DAMN IT…!**_

 **[BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!]** Izuku heard All Might call out, and Izuku couldn't help but look,

[I find myself to be quite the entertainer, but just watch _**this**_...!] All Might gestured to a TV right next to him, and clicked a button on the remote—that All Might suddenly had in his hand.

Izuku looked at the TV, and noticed right away, a familiar face, "No way!—That's…!" Izuku couldn't help but speak…!

 _["Um, excuse me?"]_ Indeed, on the screen, was none other than Ochako Uraraka herself. Izuku felt his fears slowly diminish at the sight of her.

[After the exam, this pretty little lady came up to us afterwards! You wouldn't believe what she asked us!] All Might's voice boomed in, as Uraraka continued.

 _["I'm v-very sorry to bug you, all… B-but, I have a request!"]_ Izuku watched her speak, and after hearing that, he realized something—

"This is…" Izuku began, only to be cut off—

 _["There's this boy—I-Izuku, that's his name! Curly hair, freckles… kinda plain looking…?"]_ She began describing him, and Izuku slowly stood up.

"This is… when she asked to—" Once again, Izuku began only to get cut off—

 _["Could you please share some of my points with him!?"]_ she exclaimed, and tears welled up in Izuku's eyes—once again!

"She… She wasn't lying…!" Izuku could only gasp in joy, finding confirmation in the video for one of his bigger doubts—if what Ochako Uraraka said was true!

" _Th-that's okay! Because… I've talked with the teachers myself!" She spoke, surprising Izuku, "I asked them to give some of my points, to you! And they said that wasn't needed! So surely, you must've passed!"_

 _["He saved me—I-in the exam! Afterwards, he said that he needed at least two more points, or something!"_ Ochako exclaimed, her eyes intense for this boy, him, that she just met, _"So please, if that's all he needs, then just take them from me! He lost out on that many points because of me—It's only fair, right!?"]_

 _["So please…! That boy…!"]_ He watched Ochako clench her eyes, _["He really… saved my life…!"]_

Izuku fell onto his knees, watching the display, as Ochako continued pleading, _["Please…! Please…! —]_

The display abruptly paused, as Izuku looked at the back of All Might, the one responsible for pausing the display.

[Young Man… Being a hero is more than just smashing robots or defeating villains all day!] All Might turned to face Izuku, his megawatt smile piercing the screen, [It's about making actions, Quirk or No Quirk, that'll change the lives of those around you!]

Izuku held his mouth open, as All Might continued, [And if you think, even for a second, that we here, at a Hero School made by Heroes, don't respect the actions you've made!—]

" _And if this place doesn't recognize you for the Hero that you are…!" Ochako continued, her voice getting rough._

 _Then…!" Ochako, her tears running freely, her face red from the emotions she felt,_ _ **"This place really shouldn't call itself the number one school for Heroes in the first place!"**_

All Might pointed at him, [Then you better be prepared to hear this, Young Man!]

'Oh my God… Uraraka-san was right…!' Izuku could only watch the screen, as judges held out signs showing numbers, after every action he made during the Exam—Saving Iida, Saving a few of his fellow examinees, and finally, saving Uraraka!

[Izuku Midoriya, with 18 Villain Points, and **60 RESCUE POINTS!]** All Might's voice boomed loud and proud, and Izuku felt hot tears streaming down his chin, **[You've BEATEN THE HERD, and LANDED! FIRST! ! PLACE! ! !]**

F… F… _**FIRST! ? !**_

Izuku was in shock— Ochako's words back at the entrance, screamed in his head, as he found the leaderboards on the TV—

His name was, indeed, sitting in first place—Sitting on top of Katsuki Bakugo's name, no-less!? _**By one point!?**_

[Izuku Midoriya, you make me so **FREAKING** Proud, you have no idea!] Izuku couldn't comprehend the sheer amount of joy he felt, from his rank, to the praise from his number one idol…

To Uraraka, for _believing_ in him when he couldn't!

He felt weightless, as if it was a dream, until All Might spoke again, [So that's why, Izuku Midoriya, for anyone else, I would have _begged_ to have them come here!]

Before Izuku could think of All Might, begging, he continued, [But I know you, Izuku, more than anyone else that applied! And that time has finally come!]

Izuku felt his heart shake with excitement and joy, his dream finally recognized after all this time, as All Might held out a hand,

[Come, Izuku Midoriya! Your Hero Academia… **Welcomes you with open arms! !]**

Izuku had nothing to worry about. The hurdles he would face, with both of his new quirks, would come with ample amounts of support, and he had no doubt about it.

" **Y-YES, SIR ! ! !"** Izuku finally exclaimed, his voice loud and proud, just like All Might's—

[No matter your response! — Which I'm sure is a nice, big, ' **YES! ALL MIGHT**!' I'm sure!] Izuku could only sweatdrop, temporarily forgetting his drive that he had before, [I wish to see you at Dagobah Municipal Park—None of _your_ business, citizen! This is between Izuku and I, _alone_!]

Izuku blinked at his request, before he continued, [Ah, but don't forget to tune in to your school and give them the news! Make it official, you know! Make sure you have the official U.A. stamp on the envelope-]

'AH!' Izuku exclaimed in his head, looking at the shredded envelope, and with it, the 'official' U.A. stamp as well, 'I ripped it in half!'

[But I'm sure this projection would be good enough as well! Only those that made it in get to see me, All Might! The others get some lousy letter, I'm sure—what? Wait, _seriously_!? _Every_ _examinee_!? _**How many took the exam in the first place!?—**_ Okay, kid, gotta go! Wish you luck!]

[Oh, before I forget—Yes, I _know_ citizen, _just wait five seconds!]_ Izuku looked at All Might, as he made a salute, [I'm sure that young man Bakugo would be pleased to hear how you got that other quirk of yours to form _! We've had to show him your performance as well_ , to avoid confusion down the road!]

'…What…?' Once again, Izuku felt dread fill his being.

[But, seeing how you two are classmates in your school, I'm sure he'll be interested in your endeavors! This is All Might, signing off!] And with that, Izuku had only the desk light brighten up the dark room.

'All Might…!' Izuku cried out in despair in his head, 'Why did you have to show **him** , too!? Why, All Might, _**Why**_!?'

Yeah, it was official! This world hated him!

* * *

[Despite your best performance, Katsuki Bakugo,] The ill-tempered blonde could only watch with rage, as All Might continued talking, [You have only ended up in Second Place-]

"Second place!?" He exclaimed, fiery explosions erupting from his arm.

[And you were just shy of one point, too!-]

" **ONE POINT!?"** Katsuki screamed, his explosions were like miniature nukes on his arms!

"Hey, punk, would ya quiet it down up there!? I'm watching Game of Thrones, damn it!" Kacchan could hear his mom coming from down below, and he begrudgingly bit his lip, forcing his quirk to calm down.

'Who the hell did it!? Who the hell beat me!? I'm going to tear him in two!' Kacchan cursed the _person-who-beat-him's_ name down to the dirt, as he impatiently watched All Might finish his speech about 'Pride', or some _shit_ he could care less about!

[Regardless, you should take note that the boy who bested you… was none other than Izuku Midoriya!]

What…?

Kacchan felt his heart stop. His quirk barely made an action as he looked at the screen in disbelief.

"…Deku…?" he whispered, his voice betraying what he was feeling on the inside.

[Indeed! It was thanks to his Hero Spirit and Charisma,] And Katsuki watched All Might turn on the screen, showing Deku on display, [Not to mention the help of _your very own quir_ k, that led to the boy's success!]

He watched the boy jump around, parading his very own explosion quirk like some toy. Using it aimlessly, carelessly… and the damn bastard looked _happy_ doing so...!

Then he watched as Izuku launched at the robot, a large 0-pointer that he, himself, hadn't encountered during the practical… and _blast it to dust…!_

[My, look at the destruction that young man's making! I'm not sure even _you_ could pull off such a stunt!]

…

Katsuki Bakugo was not a silent person. When he encountered problems, he'd _shout and scream_ them into submission before pounding him with his awesome quirk.

But today, he was silent. Motionless, unmoving… He did not make a single movement towards himself, towards the screen, nothing…

But that day, Katsuki stared at the screen… with **hollow, glowing, red, burning,** _ **pure**_ **and** _ **utter**_ **hatred** **, eyes.**

And there was one, and only one person on his mind after that.

[Both of you have passed the Exam. I'm sure you have many questions for the young man, so find all the time you need to ask such questions, here at U.A!]

Izuku. Midoriya.

The rest of All Might's speech was incandescent, unnoticeable by Bakugo. As he slowly leaned towards the projector.

[That's why you must come, Katsuki Bakugo! **Come** , **to your Hero Academia—]**

And _smashed_ it, to _bits_.

* * *

 _I've made my way to the school, to report my success, only to find Kaccha—…Katsuki there, as well. At first, he seemed quiet, and uncaring, like usual. I honestly thought I was safe, at that school, at that moment. Everything almost went without a hitch…_

 _Almost…_

 _When I made my way towards Dagobah, to meet up with All Might!—_

" **I—! ! ! !"** My eyes widened immediately, my back went straight, and my hairs stood up out of my skin, when I heard that voice,

 _He caught me, red-handed, like the little thief that I was…!_

" **ZU—! ! ! !"** My head slowly turned behind me, as I processed the voice, but my mind kept denying it, 'No, it's not him, it's not him, he would never! —'

 _I thought I was going to go away, scratch-free, like some lucky mastermind… like some villain._

" **KUUU! ! ! !"** And yet, there he was, the person he would've never, ever, imagined saying my real name in public: Katsuki Bakugo.

 _I should've figured as much. I knew, right as soon as All Might said those words, my fate was sealed. Sealed and bolted to the wall like some decoration._

"How long have you been lying about not have a Quirk, Izuku!? And why the hell is it _**MY QUIRK!?"**_

 _I've tried. I've tried so hard to figure out the right words to say to him, that day. Something,_ _ **anything**_ _that would've pleased him, instead of making him angrier than he already was…_

 _But… It was all for naught._

"I-I have—" Izuku cleared his throat, "I have a quirk… that lets me use others' quirks, so long as I know about them well enough, Kacchan!

Izuku's eyes began tearing up, as his glare softened to nothing, "Because of your quirk, I did pass! It was thanks to you! S-So… thank you! Thank you so very much, Kacchan!"

"Deku… I'm **really** going to kill you now."

 _When I broke free from Katsuki that day, I snapped what little bond we had left of, the bond that had connected me and the Kacchan I used to know. Not that it wasn't already just a mess of bits and pieces to start with… but on that day, Katsuki changed._

 _He would no longer be the Kacchan I looked up to, and admired. He'd be somebody completely different, a_ _ **real**_ _monster towards me, and me alone._

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Review Responses down below!**

* * *

 **GodAmongGods** : Thank you! And please, feel free to stick around! This story's going to pick up quite a bit after these first few chapters, I can assure you. We're getting right to the meaty-greaty of My Hero Academia's plot after all!

 **DBE Detonation** : U2 thks!

 **Sang28** : That's the gist of it. If MHA was a vanilla shake, my story is like a Cookie Shake: Not too much cookie, but still plenty of cookie around. (Sorry about this analogy. Craving shakes right now.) And please, feel free to keep reviewing when you can. It means a lot to me!

 **Hypernova5.0** : Thanks! Yeah, was kinda worried that somebody might've found Ochako too OOC… but then again, they're still high school kids, and that was a very stressful moment for the both of them, so I said… well, fuhk it, let's just go ahead and put this in right here.

Glad you enjoyed it!

 **Angryboy13** : Actually, I planned a very interesting scenario for Izuku to go with, using Monoma's 'Copy' quirk, believe it or not. Should I go with it, you, the readers, will know exactly when it'll happen. However, Monoma's copy quirk will have its very same drawback; the time limit, for Izuku as well… perhaps with even less time, hmm?

Thanks again for the review!

 **Aleixasy** : You have no idea how happy this makes me. I'm very glad my fanfic was enough to make you create an account to review with in the first place. Trust me, your effort won't be in vain: I'll keep writing so long as you all keep reviewing and faving!

 **Heikichi107** : Haha, yep! Expect no less from me I guess, lol! And thanks, making these covers ain't too hard, but I need to make sure they stay professional so they keep bringing in more readers!

Writing for me is just a burst of energy: You're doubtful and stiff for the first page or so, but when you get going with your story… man, you get _going_!

Anyone here who's afraid about writing, just know that I was solely an artist until this past month or so, when I felt like I just couldn't take not writing this story from the ground up anymore. **If you have a similar drive, a voice that needs to be heard, do it NOW, before the season is over, and get those readers, darn it!**

 **Indra Synthesis:** Now I don't need Google Translate for that! Glad you enjoyed it buddy!

 **Tireless Overseer:** Glad you can jump on the bandwagon, buddy! I ,myself, find myself disappointed when a good story falls just short a few chapters, so trust me when I say I'll keep writing as fast, and as best as I can. Just stay tuned, buddy!

 **Zyxis Ouroboros ReArchtypist:** I wouldn't even be the slightest bit mad if you left another review saying that again! Makes me happy to know people are eagerly waiting for the next chapter!

 **That Guy:** **AH HA HA HA!** (Hey look, I speak in 'All Might' too!)

I'm glad you're hooked. I have a lot of potential for this story that's going to really start kicking in for the next few chapters, so I happy to get past the ground-building stage of the story.

You seem to understand what Izuku's going to do with his quirk quite a bit, but not everyone will be dumbfounded, of course. The person who gets copied will have an equally matching reaction depending on their character, like for instance Bakugo is (of course) livid as all hell right now. Everyone else will have similar matching reactions, not just mad or shocked, of course!

And Izuku, while his control over the quirks he has right now is sloppy, **he'll soon find the missing link he needs to really put some power in his quirk.**

You don't need me to tell you that Izuku will be a cut above the rest, bud! Let the story do its thing, and you'll see the answer for yourself!

 **Victorsmyname:** Oh not at all, you're words weren't bad at all, lol! **Please, let me know if my story starts to drag!** A boring book is a bad nook, after all!

 **Domoko** : Oh geez, my cravings or whacking out right now, holy crap I want cinnamon rolls now. Thanks for your review!

 **someguy** : Well, technically, it is the 2nd part of the first chapter, sooo… You're not wrong on that notion, lol.

 **ShiningStar32** : Thanks again for your constant support man! Love reading your paragraphs! Comic locations are front and center on the very top of the story. And—Ugh, brownies, my damn cravings are going nuts! Thanks again for your time, see you again real soon!

 **Dark007arc:** There's already a pretty neat story on villain Deku with All for One (Hopefully you know what I'm talking about), so I decided to not go that route. However, I found myself disappointed in not seeing Deku using his friends' quirks with All for One, because the real quirk will cause his friends harm.

So, I took a different path, and made Izuku's 'All for One' completely different from Canon 'All for One'. And I'm very happy with the upcoming fruits of my labor.

I want Katsuki to be much colder to Izuku for this development, at least, for now. However, he won't stay like this forever. He'll have his usual Kacchan moments, but there will be noticeable changes, both good and bad, as the story progresses.

Yep. An OP Deku is just bad storytelling after all. Hope you enjoy the ride as it comes!

* * *

 **Thanks again for reviewing everyone! Sorry about this coming in late, and I'm cheating cause I can already see your reviews for this chapter, but I will properly respond to your reviews in the next chapter, okay? Have a nice day guys!**

* * *

 **9/3/19 - Update - Comic removed:** I wasn't satisfied with how the comic turned out. It didn't have the same level of quality this story has due to limitations on my drawing ablilities back then.

After working on a number of artworks, one including a community-based video game, I have a much higher standard for artwork now. If I end up making another comic it will be much, much more pleasant to look at!

If you are curious, feel free to PM me! It's not great, but if it's something you absolutely want to see I won't stop you!

Thank you! Feel free to continue reading!


	5. Chapter 5 - Understanding Application P1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **EDIT: Thank you Johnny Spectre for reviewing about Kamui Woods's Quirk. On the wiki it says Arbor, which is roughly a 'Grove of Trees' in translation for his quirk.**

 **However, I will go with Lumber anyway, as it's a much more familiar name.**

 **We've made it halfway to our chapter goal, and it's looking pretty awesome so far, and it's all thanks to you guys and your support! Seriously, I'd probably be just making sketches or something of the story, had it not been for your guys and your demand for something like this…!**

 **I also noticed quite a bit of spelling errors, or just words omitted out when they shouldn't have been. Hopefully stuff like this doesn't steer new visitors away, but I'll make sure to correct those chapters with due time.**

 **As always, review responses down below. Enjoy the next chapter of, "My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!"**

* * *

" _How long have you been lying about not have a Quirk, Izuku!? And why the hell is it_ _ **MY QUIRK!?"**_

 _I've tried. I've tried so hard to figure out the right words to say to him, that day. Something,_ _ **anything**_ _that would've pleased him, instead of making him angrier than he already was…_

 _But… It was all for naught._

" _I-I have—" Izuku cleared his throat, "I have a quirk… that lets me use others' quirks, so long as I know about them well enough, Kacchan!_

 _Izuku's eyes began tearing up, as his glare softened to nothing, "Because of your quirk, I did pass! It was thanks to you! S-So… thank you! Thank you so very much, Kacchan!"_

" _Deku… I'm_ _ **really**_ _going to kill you now."_

 _When I broke free from Katsuki that day, I snapped what little bond we had left of, the bond that had connected me and the Kacchan I used to know. Not that it wasn't already just a mess of bits and pieces to start with… but on that day, Kacchan changed._

 _He would no longer be the Kacchan I looked up to, and admired. He'd be somebody completely different, a_ _ **real**_ _monster towards me, and me alone._

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Understanding and Application (Part One)_

* * *

Izuku, after his encounter with Kacchan in that alleyway, began sprinting towards his home, his adrenaline slowly leaking away, and his breath leaving him, but he refused to stop running until he was safe—safe from his childhood friend, of all things!

 _Izuku ran, far away from Katsuki, as he cried out,_ _ **"Deku!"**_

He could see it, the door of his home, just ways away from here! His legs almost toppled over themselves, just out of sheer exhaustion, but his watery eyes kept his sight on the goal, his labored breaths getting evermore sharper.

" _ **Get back here and face me, you goddamn copycat!"**_ _Tears were searing through Izuku's eyes once more, and he couldn't help but feel afraid. Afraid of facing Katsuki… afraid of facing Kacchan._

Izuku felt his exhaustion finally taking over him, as he was meters away from the door of his home. His eyes were drooping just by the amount of stamina it took to get there as quickly as possible, but he didn't hesitate; opening the door the way he did, and almost slamming the door behind him, locking it for extra measure.

Once he knew he was okay, he turned his back to the door, and leaned against it, looking up and taking in much needed gulps of air,

" _Hah…! Hah…!"_ Izuku expressed his tired form perfectly, his eyes closed and his mouth wide open. He wasn't too sure just how far he ran without stopping—A mile? Two miles?

"Izuku?" He could hear his mom call out, and he opened his eyes to see her approaching him from the kitchen, "Dear, what's wrong? Why are you panting like that?" she walked over to him, and he stopped leaning against the door.

"Hah… Mah… Maa…" Izuku tried, tried to say words, but his labored breathing wouldn't allow him, so he simply walked over to his mom slowly, before _quite_ _literally_ toppling over her, as she caught him out of surprise.

"I-Izuku!? What're you—Good Lord, you're sweating so much! Have you been running!?" His mom made comments on his physique, but Izuku could only feel comfort in her words, away from the outside world, and back in his home, his comfort zone. His body began trembling, as he remembered what happened to him.

"Mah… _Mom_ …!" He finally worded out, as he clenched his eyes, unable to cry anymore, "Mom… Kah… Kacchan, he…!"

"Kacchan? Katsuki?" Inko's eyes took on a fierce shape, prepared for the worst as she always was when Katsuki is brought up, "What did that boy do to you now, Izuku!? I swear, I'm going to let his parents have of piece of my—"

" _Don't_!" Surprisingly, Izuku shut her off before she could continue, and Inko could only gape in surprise, "It's not…! Like that! It's…!"

Izuku took in a gulp of fresh air, tired of, well, _being too tired_ to properly express his feelings, "It's…! He's… mad at me, for using his quirk…!"

"What…?" Inko could only respond, and Izuku clenched on his mom's clothes.

"All Might…! Told Kacchan about my quirk…!" He looked up towards his Mom, his eyes red from crying all the way here, "And now… He hates me…! He really, _really_ _**hates**_ me, mom! What should I do!? I only…!"

He shut his eyes hard, feeling frustrated, "I only did what I could…! To pass the exam…!"

Inko, looking at the disdain her son was showing, could only frown at being unable to help her son's problems. Still, though, Inko put up a tough face, as she prepared her words carefully.

"Listen, honey," Inko spoke up, and Izuku tilted his head up towards her, "One day we need to talk about what Katsuki is to you, especially now that you'll be heading to high school with the boy…"

"Mom…?" he finally looked up to her—

Only to blink _,_ as his mom had a sour look on her face, one of her hands wiping away the air like some sort of windshield wiper.

"But first, you need to take a shower, honey! You're giving off some B.O!" A small blush was on her face as she said this, and she could only smile, "I guess my son really is growing after all—"

"I-I'll be in the shower!" Izuku cried out in embarrassment, and ran to the bathroom with renewed vigor. Inko could only laugh, happy to see Izuku attempting to forget his previous troubles, before taking a glance at the phone.

Seeing Izuku in such an awful state really made her tempted to call up Katsuki's mom, Mitsuki Bakugo.

This wasn't the first time something like this happened, and every occurrence beforehand, Inko would find herself calling up the Bakugo residence afterwards.

However, this time, it had something to do with Izuku's quirk, and quite frankly, Inko had no idea how to handle the situation compared to before.

Hearing the water running in the bathroom, Inko felt against picking up the phone this time. She sighed at her lack of action, 'I guess… I should hear Izuku out first, before making my decision.'

* * *

 _Maybe I was just so happy, so overjoyed over finally having a quirk for myself, that I didn't think of the consequences at the time…_

After Izuku followed his mom's advice a took a shower, he had time to really think about what happened between him and Kacchan. About why his backlash was so great, and the chances of him possibly fixing what's left of their relationship.

I knew that Kacchan was a prideful person. Out of everyone else in this world, I knew that the best… but still…!

He remembered how he felt, using the Explosion quirk in the practical: He was excited, surprised… but most of all, confident! Confident on Ace-ing the practical—Which he ended up doing in the first place!

But as a result, he ended up beating Kacchan in the first place, and hurting said boy's ego as a result. To make matters worse, All Might ended up showing him how Izuku won in the first place: Stealing his quirk!

It only… added fuel to the flame of _rage_ that Kacchan felt towards him!

 _But what can I say? Was I asking for it? Maybe…_

" _ **Get back here and face me, you goddamn copycat!"**_

 _But Katsuki made me realize one thing. Something I've decided to be careful with, during my stay at U.A High._

That's what he called him. Not just Deku, but a copycat. Something like that, with the rage of an entire sun, made a mark on his mind.

Deku's lips thinned, 'Is that all I am…? Just some mimic with nothing special of my own…?'

'Even All Might's quirk…! I'm just… borrowing from him, in the first place…!' Deku held his head; he could already feel the onslaught of emotions coming through, 'I'm just borrowing from other Pro Heroes, their quirks! If I do something like that, without asking first…!'

" _See him? Deku's his name," Some shaded-out man spoke out in Izuku's mind, "That person can steal your quirk and get away with it! He's definitely not the hero you'd want to be around!"_

" _I see," Iida sighed, away from Izuku, "It seems I've completely misjudged him before." Iida glared at him, like before during the Practical Exam explanation, "He's just a villain from the very start…!"_

" _How could you…?" Uraraka was in front of him, crying…!_

Izuku balled his hands up into fists, as his teeth clenched at the vision, shocks of fear going up his spine—

" _How could you something like that!? Stealing quirks!?" Uraraka turned away from him, "You're… You're a_ _ **monster**_ _!—"_

*Thump!*

Before he knew it, Izuku punched the shower wall, and left his fist there, his body trembling ever so slightly… His other hand found itself, holding his face once more.

'How easily… could something like that happen, as well…?' Izuku pondered, but simply didn't have the answer for it…

 _Back then, what I thought was, 'Don't think about copying others' quirks so freely. Otherwise, you're going to end up with a lot of hate on your hands'…_

 _With my awful kindergarten memories growing up Quirkless, and after my crappy Junior-High experience, and everything in between, this was the last thing I wanted to happen for U.A!_

 _I wanted my time at the school I dreamed of… to be the absolute best there was…!_

 _To copy—No, to_ _ **steal**_ _quirks so freely, was something that would ruin that dream for good!_

Izuku released his face, and nodded to himself, full of determination, "If that's the case, then…!"

 _I was going to avoid that landmine at all costs, no matter what!_

* * *

Inko could be found standing beside a kitchen counter, not sure whether to start making dinner or to worry about Izuku and the crisis he was dealing with.

'He's been in the shower for a good twenty or thirty minutes now…' Inko thought worriedly, twiddling with her fingers while glancing at the closed bathroom door, 'I really hope Izuku is—'

" _Craaaaap!_ " Inko blinked in surprise at Izuku's sudden profanity, as the bathroom door suddenly opened. Out came Izuku, with dripping wet hair, trying to aggressively put on his clothes as he made his way out of the bathroom.

"I-Izuku! Watch your language, young man!" Izuku reeled back at his mom's sudden, harsh words. He cowered in response,

"I-I'm sorry! – I mean, I couldn't help it! I completely forgot about All—" Izuku cut himself off quickly, before he could finish that sentence, " _My trainer!_ My trainer, he—he wanted to see me back at Dagobah Municipal Park, after I went to school today!" Almost forgetting the fact that he didn't quite tell his mom about All Might training him all these months to use his quirk, Izuku made the correction immediately.

"Your trainer, again? —" Inko stepped forward, giving a worried look to her son, "Are you sure you'll be fine? I thought Katsuki gave you a hard time earlier? Don't you want to talk about it…?"

"I'll be fine…!" Izuku nodded, feeling much better after giving himself some time to think bout said situation, before looking at mom with a nervous smile, "And mom, thanks for, uh, suggesting taking a shower… It really helped clear my mind of things…!"

"Your welcome, sweetie. Stay safe, okay?" Inko, relaxing at Izuku's confident demeanor, responded in kind. Izuku nodded.

"I will. I'll be back home as soon as possible!" and with that, Izuku headed outside once more, leaving behind a happy—and slightly perturbed Inko Midoriya.

"…Sheesh, that boy, sending me on a emotional roller-coaster like that…!" Inko shook her head, but still smiled despite what happened.

She knew one thing for certain, though: Her son was far stronger than he looked, being able to brush off something that seemed really stressful to her son.

…She just hoped that something like _this_ , wouldn't happen again. Otherwise, she wouldn't know if her heart could take it!

* * *

Izuku found himself at Dagobah Municipal Park at dawn, the clear blue waves giving off a shimmer of orange thanks to the low-hanging sun.

He could easily see All Might, standing near the shoreline, and felt himself brighten up once again, before running down to the beach himself to greet him, "A-All Might! —"

"W-Who's Th _agth_!?" said man responded almost in a panicked state, blood spewing out of his mouth. Izuku realized this as him, dodging his hero name once again—

"What, did he just say All Might!?" "No way, I would love his autograph!" Izuku blinked, and looked behind his idol to notice—Wait, there were people here!? Since when!?

"Crap! Kid, say it was a mistake, quick!" Yagi responded after hearing the bystanders make those comments, and Izuku flailed around his arms,

"N-Nothing! I was kidding! It's not All Might!" Izuku exclaimed! —

"Aw, sheesh, really got my hopes up there!" "No way! That darn kid really fooled me!" Izuku sighed, and noticed that Yagi was doing the same thing.

Yagi then raised a big hand towards him, and Izuku noticed what he meant by it—He was giving him a High Five. All Might, of all people!

"Good Job out there, Kid." All Might said. Izuku stuttered a bit, feeling a little sour over the incident with Bakugo, but immediately shook it off and raised his own hand to slap his.

"I-I couldn't have done it without you, All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, and the man billowed out a laugh.

"Speaking of that, just wanted to let you know that the points you've gotten during the exam, you earned them, fair and square." All Might spoke, and Izuku blinked at that statement. Seeing his confusion, All Might continued, "Really! I wasn't one of the judges, and the other judges didn't know about me training you."

He held out a hand, "So whatever you earned, you earned by yourself." All Might finished, and Izuku smiled.

"Wow! That means a lot to me, thanks!" Izuku initially spoke, before remembering the presentation in detail, "I was also surprised to hear that you're teaching U.A! I mean, your Hero Company's located all the way at Minato, Tokyo, isn't it!? That's pretty far away!"

Yagi sweatdropped at Izuku's fanboyism showing once more, "A little creepy there, kid, but yeah, you got it. However," All Might looked towards the shoreline, an intense look in his eyes.

"I talked to U.A's principal about my predicament; finding a successor for One for All. He decided to have me as a teacher there in return. I couldn't tell anybody until I made the official announcement, to all the students who passed the Exam." All Might continued to speak, and Izuku noticed what he meant:

He was looking for a successor. Rather, somebody with a really good quirk to take up One for All.

Izuku looked at his hands, feeling a little somber about the chance of him not getting One for All…

Then immediately shut it down, because of recent events—He had a quirk now! An amazing! —

" _ **Get back here and face me, you goddamn copycat!"**_

And… slightly troubling quirk, after what had happened.

"All Might…" Izuku first began, itching to tell him about his newest quirk…

" _Could somebody become a Hero, just like you, even without a Quirk…!?"_

But, he simply didn't feel the courage to talk about it. He felt like he cheated, both Bakugo… and All Might.

So instead, he began talking about One for All, "Your quirk… it ruined my body when I used it…!" Izuku's eyes went lidded with sorrow, "I can only give one punch or kick before it breaks my bones… I really… have no control over it, whatsoever…!"

"Well—Yeah?" Yagi spoke, as if saying the obvious, "I mean, I'm not surprised that something like that's happened to you, to be honest." Yagi scratched his head, as Izuku's eyes widened in shock!

"W-Wait, you knew that I was going to get hurt that badly!?" Izuku exclaimed, his intense voice making Yagi reel back in surprise.

"Of course! We were in a time crunch, you know!? _Don't look at me like I haven't warned you!"_ Yagi pointed a finger at him, "'Be prepared for some backlash when using my quirk', I said! Besides, it turned out alright, didn't it!? Heck, you even landed yourself in first place! —"

All Might immediately cut himself off, after saying that. Something Izuku noticed right away, as he blinked in response, "All Might?" He said quietly, making sure not to say it too loud, to attract the couple that was away from them.

Toshinori Yagi looked towards Izuku, dead in the eye, and began to speak, "Which brings me to my next point…" All Might's tone got serious, and Izuku couldn't help but gulp some air in; He felt like he knew where this was going to, next…

"I've wanted to talk to you about this ever since it appeared during the practical…" Yagi continued, and Izuku's eyes grew soft, "Young Man, you didn't lie to me about being quirkless, correct?" he asked.

"N-No, of course not!" Izuku responded immediately, albeit with a stutter, as his eyes showed offense to being asked such a question.

Yagi nodded, "Okay… With a look like that, I can't help but believe you. However… " Yagi stared at him, hard, once again, "How… did you acquire Katsuki's quirk, in the first place?"

"…" Izuku stood silent, not finding the strength to explain how his quirk worked. After what happened back with Katsuki, he felt doubtful of his own, new quirk in the first place…

What happened with Katsuki… Started because of All Might showed the hothead what Izuku did, after all…

"Before… I say anything…" Izuku first started, and Yagi's eyes narrowed at how he dodged the question by saying that.

Regardless, Yagi let the boy continue, "All Might… Why… did you have to go and tell Kacchan, about me, using his quirk…"

"…You aren't denying the fact that it's his quirk…" All Might responded, and Izuku gasped at how easy he worded it out, for All Might to put the puzzle together! — "Which means, you copied it after all…?"

Izuku, feeling defeated, soon found his voice again, to answer his question, "…Yeah. I copied his quirk."

Yagi nodded, "Thank you for being honest, Young Man…" Yagi looked up to the sky, releasing a sigh, "I told him… because the school told me to, Izuku."

"…Wait?" Izuku could only gasp, "It wasn't… It wasn't your fault!?"

"Well, no… but I agreed with what they thought about your performance," All Might began, scratching his cheek with a frail finger, "By copying somebody else's quirk, that was the only reason you've managed to get in first place. Not to mention Bakugo was just shy of a point to begin with—The other teachers thought it'd only be fair to notify him of his shortcomings.

"B-But now, Kacchan, he—he _hates_ me! Absolutely _despises_ me, because of it! —" Izuku said his outcry, feeling betrayed by his idol—

Izuku received a sharp look by Yagi, one that seemed furious! —

" _ **Take responsibility for your actions, Young Man!"**_ he spoke, almost angry at Izuku for what he was saying, and Izuku himself shrunk. The man sighed loudly, looking at the fright on Izuku's face.

"I'm… sorry, for stepping out of line," Yagi kept his fierce look, however, something that Izuku felt was very nerve-wracking, "But you need to learn, Izuku,"

Yagi proceeded to hold his head, "You can't just pin the blame on me or the school, simply because one student's angry at getting their thunder stolen. It happens all the time—It comes with the business of being a Pro Hero."

"So, with your new ability in mind, you need to make a choice," Releasing his head, Yagi's bright, blue eyes stared right into Izuku's green ones, "Either you learn to suck it up, and take responsibility for it… Or _never_ use Bakugo's quirk, ever again."

"All Might…!" Izuku was surprised just at the wisdom his idol was giving, before nodding to himself:

These were the choices he had to make, using his new quirk— Not just for Kacchan, but for anybody else that might get mad over him, using their quirks!

"Okay, got it…!" Izuku spoke, feeling more confident.

"Glad to hear it, Young Man. Now, please tell me," Yagi continued, his look less serious than before, "Just _how_ did you get around to using Bakugo's quirk, in the first place? He was nowhere near you during the exam…!?" His voice was exasperated, almost comical…!

Izuku, feeling put out of place, tried to explain how his new quirk worked! —

"I-I… just wished for it to happen… A-and it did!"

…However, Izuku did not word it out correctly, and All Might… was helplessly confused.

" _Hah?"_ he simply spoke out, and Izuku could only gap in surprise.

"I-I mean—really! That's all there was to it, at that time! I-I didn't have to do anything special, like the other quirks I know—" Yagi's eyes widened at this.

' _Other Quirks'?_ What was going on with this kid!?' he thought, before speaking.

"What do you mean, 'other quirks'—Midoriya, you're making no sense here. Quirks don't just suddenly appear! —"

"But they do for _**me**_ , All M— _Mmmm_!?" Izuku felt his mouth get covered, as Yagi pressed his hand over it.

"Like I said, kid, not too loud, okay!?" Yagi cursed over his breath, looking over to the couple that was standing on the observatory above the ocean, before sighing to himself, "Okay, fine… so these 'other Quirks' you mentioned before… What're you talking about, exactly?"

"All Might," Izuku stared up at him, with a serious look on his face, "As of right now…!"

Izuku held out his hands, as he spoke, "I can do Kacchan's quirk, **Explosion** , as you already know…!" Yagi nodded, as Izuku pointed out one finger, until he continued! —

"But now, I can also do my Mom and Dad's quirks, **Helping Hand** and **Fire Breath! —"**

Yagi blinked, at how he said his parents' quirks separately, and not like other kids with their parents quirks merged together as one. Izuku was holding three fingers out at this point—

"Then, there's Endeavor's **Hell Flame!"** Izuku spoke loudly, as if really happy to report it.

And Yagi's eyes widened—out of anyone for Izuku to copy, he wasn't expecting his (unintentional) rival, Endeavor!? _Endeavor,_ of all people, would be the very last thing he could see Izuku—No! Yagi couldn't even think about anyone, but that man himself, using that kind of quirk. For Izuku to say something so bold was! —

"As well as Best Jeanist's **Fiber Manipulation!"** Best Jeanist, too!? That guy was also quite the hero, himself!?

"As well as Kamui Wood's **Lumber** quirk, a-and Backdraft's **Hydrokinesis!"** Izuku held out, with both his hands, seven fingers—seven _quirks_ , in total!

And while it just barely hit double-digits, Yagi couldn't help but find himself shocked, at the claim he made. Saying something so _ridiculous_ , so _crazy_! —

"Although my control isn't that great for most of these quirks…!" Izuku looked at his hands, before clenching them, "I can perform Kacchan's quirk, and both my Parents' quirks, at a very good level!"

For a moment, Yagi was stunned, speechless. Izuku, he knew, was not a kid to lie, but just hearing how serious the kid was…

No… Something like this just seemed… _unimaginable_ , for a kid who was deemed quirkless, just before Yagi met him…!?

So, with two words, he solidified that fantasy,

" **Prove it."** Yagi requested him, his voice crystal clear. Izuku just stared at him… before nodding.

And Yagi _watched_. Watched as the kid in front of him suddenly lit aflame, in a flurry of fire, dancing around his skin— **and he noticed** _ **, right away**_ **, the resemblance that Izuku aimed for**!

"Using Endeavor's power… really kinda hurts right now, All Might…!" He heard the boy's voice, reminding him that the user of the quirk this time wasn't Endeavor—

"But, even if only for a second, I can handle it…!" Izuku spoke out with a pained voice, as his eyebrows took on a greenish-orange transition to flame.

Yagi could only stare back at _a green, mini-_ _ **Endeavor**_ , and damn it, he was going to remember that smirk that Izuku had, wielding that power for himself, enjoying the sight of his idol, just in complete and utter shock.

"Is this enough proof for you, All Might?" Izuku spoke out loud, matching the same voice All Might had, asking him to do the quirk in the first place.

"Ye…Yeah" All Might said, looking behind to see that their audience was also stunned at the display of flame

"Wow, that's so cool!" "Is that boy Endeavor's kid?!"

" _Hurk! ! !"_ Hearing this, All Might suddenly spewed out blood from his mouth, out of stress, and began eyeing Izuku, 'Forget Bakugo, if the media catches this, poor kid's going to have Endeavor all over him…!'

"Alright kid, shut off your quirk at meet me up at the parking lot! Now!" Izuku, hearing the urgency in All Might's voice, reacted almost immediately,

"R-Right!" Izuku felt himself closing the notebook in his head, and with it, the quirk dispersed into nothing as well, the previous flames burning off him quickly disappearing! All Might'x breath hitched at the sight,

"Like a natural!—" shaking his head, All Might snapped that train of thought immediately, "Let's make a move for it!" and with that, the frail man, not in his hero form, began running, with Izuku trailing behind him.

' _Crap!'_ All Might, already feeling the wound on his stomach taking its toll, began panting immediately, 'I should've switched to my other form before running…!'

* * *

"A-All Might…?" Izuku asked, sweating nervously as he watched the man breathe hard and heavy, trying to regain his breath.

"I'm… Fine…!" despite the sight, Yagi insisted on his well-being, and Izuku laughed nervously.

"I-If you say so..." Izuku responded quietly, and finally, Yagi regained the air he lost by running.

"Now kid…" panting quite a bit still, Yagi began talking, catching the young boy's attention, "I was prepared to teach you how to control One for All… but this new quirk… is…" All Might seemingly stopped talking after mentioning his quirk, and Izuku could do nothing except wait for him to finish—

"Allow me… to be a bit selfish, and just talk to you about One for All, for now." Yagi sighed, and Izuku blinked, as he continued,

"Back at the practical exam, indeed, you haven't been able to control your quirk properly just yet. Not that I wanted you to break your bones, kid, but I wasn't expecting you to grasp it a hundred-percent, right off the bat!"

"You can only control One for All at either zero or a hundred percent, at least for now," All Might stared back into Izuku's eyes as he continued, "But…! There is a way to control One for All…!"

"There is!?" Izuku gasped, and All Might nodded—before suddenly turning into his buff form!

" **You have to FEEL It!"** He exclaimed, his voice booming over the shoreline, and Izuku reeled back in shock!

"F-Feel it!?"

"That's right, Young Man!" All Might laughed, and Izuku could simply watch in awe at the display, while All Might thrusted his mighty arms in a boxer-like fashion, "You've gotten a chance to use your quirk at full power, now tell me: _What did it feel like_!?"

" _Wah_!" Izuku, put on the spot, immediately started thinking, "I-It was—It was like a 'Pow!'—or a 'Bzzt!'—or, no, rather!—" Spurting out random comic-book sound effects, Izuku finally nailed the head on what he felt—

"Oh, I know! Like a Microwave cooking an egg—And exploding!"

" _BAHAK!"_ Promptly transforming out of his All Might-form, Yagi _laughed_ out blood—if such a thing was possible!? "That's incredibly _random_ and _boring_ , but hey, let's go with that!"

Yagi held out his hands in an explaining-like motion, "So think of that image, but instead, think of the egg in the microwave _not_ exploding. Think you can do that?"

Izuku's eyes widened at the image, "Is it that simple…?" Izuku murmured, before nodding to himself, 'I can definitely do something like that!'

"Indeed, Young Man. Do that, and in no time, you should be able to find your limit with One for All, and keep it there. Once you do that, we'll work on the next step!" All Might finished proudly, and Izuku smiled.

"Now that's out of the way… as for your other quirk, Izuku…" All Might spoke afterwards, and Izuku's smile dropped at the sound of his voice.

"Like I said before, I was only prepared to teach you One for All. This Quirk," Yagi looked at Izuku with particularly tired eyes, "This quirk… is something that I was not expecting."

"If it were somebody else, somebody with a quirk themselves since their childhood," Izuku felt a little depressed at him saying that, talking about the chance of another person being his disciple, but Yagi continued,

"Then it would've been no different: I would expect the kid to know how his quirk works from the very beginning, and Just taught him how to control One for All from there…" Izuku blinked at what he said,

"All Might… Are you saying—"

" _What_ I'm saying, kid…" All Might cut Izuku off quickly, before he could assume anything out of his speech, "Is that I cannot help you with your new Quirk, at the slightest. This is something that you're going to have to learn how to make it powerful, _all by yourself_." Yagi finished, and Izuku was slightly disturbed at knowing that he wouldn't be receiving help this time around.

Yagi sighed, "I'm sorry if this offends you, really. But I simply don't know your quirk enough to teach you, myself."

For a moment, there was silence, only the sound of the waves breaking across the shore, as Izuku processed what his idol said to him. Thanking long and hard about it, Izuku clenched his fists, and opened his mouth to speak! —

"It…" Izuku began, only to lose voice—but only for a second, "It's okay, All Might! It-It's not your fault, really—I can't expect you to teach me everything, after all! —"

Izuku, noticing All Might's guilty expression, cleared his throat, "You're making this seem like it's a bad thing… It's not! In fact," Izuku held out a fist in front of him, "Just you watch, All Might! I'll make sure to become the _greatest_ hero yet…!" Izuku's eyes held fire within them, as he spoke, "And the first step is making this Quirk… as well as One for All… _**my very own power!"**_

"Even if it takes a long time… I'm ready!" Izuku nodded, "I'm prepared to make my dream become a reality… **No matter what the cost!"**

Izuku, saying that with such conviction, made All Might seriously impressed at that moment, as Yagi let out a short billow of laughter, "You really… Are quite something, Young Man…!"

"Very well… Then allow me to repeat the motto of my _Alma Mater_ , kid…!" All Might pressed his own fist, against Izuku's held-out hand, bumping knuckles, "Learn both of these quirks, to the very best of your ability! Show me what you're made of, and Go _beyond…!"_

Izuku's eyes shimmered, feeling fired up after their talk, forgetting all the bad things that's happened before!

" **Plus Ultra!"** Both him, and All Might, spoke aloud, the sun beating down on them both with hot orange light…!

* * *

 _Before I knew it, it was April—The very first month of my stay at U.A High._

 _While nothing much happened between then and now, it wasn't like I haven't done anything during those last few months of Winter:_

 _Ever since All Might's speech, I've decided to take up my own training regime, using the Quirks I've acquired now up till this point. Everything, except One for All, under the fear that I might break my bones once more._

 _Using my quirks every day, I aimed to make them stronger just by exercising their abilities—like muscles! After all, Quirks are part of the body, just as much as my head or my feet are. With training, they're bound to become stronger—_ **Application!**

 _In my down time, I'd scout out the internet and the media for news and headlines on the Pro Heroes—From their greatest feats, to even the most mundane interviews as celebrities, and writing down as much as I could in my notebooks, updating constantly about their Quirks—_ **Understanding!**

 _With time, my control of the quirks turned out to be much better—From_ _ **Endeavor's Hell Flame**_ _to even_ _ **BackDraft's Hydrokinesis,**_ _I've managed to establish a much reliable control over the quirks I've previously had a poor time with…_

… _But even then, there's always a catch: While my control was good, it was never_ _ **great,**_ _Like Mom or Dad, or even Kacchan's Quirks. I could never reliably switch to the other Quirks as fast as I could with those three, nor did I have the same amazing amount of strength or control._

 _It was like something was blocking me from using those abilities, to their fullest. It was almost unfair, because I didn't have the slightest clue as to why that was the case…!_

 _It led me to believe, that my training regime was lacking something. It was a Two-out-of-Three Part Plan, and I was missing a part._

 _ **Understanding**_ _the Quirk… Then putting the Quirk in action…_ _ **Application**_ _._

 _So… what was missing…?!_

* * *

Izuku could be seen putting on his shoes, in an almost frantic pace, "Okay, I'll be heading out mom!"

"Izuku, wait!" Inko called out, walking over towards the boy, who had an impatient look on his face.

" _What_!? Mom, I'm going to be late for the train—" Izuku immediately quieted up, looking at the sad yet happy look on his mom's face.

"Stay safe, will you dear?" Inko responded immediately, losing the bashful side of hers a long time ago, after Izuku acquired his quirk and made both his parents proud—She no longer felt guilty about herself,

"I love you, Izuku. Have fun, okay?" Inko finished, and Izuku had a small smile, before nodding.

"Of course! Love you too, Mom!" he replied, before finally heading outside.

* * *

Izuku could not have imagined himself running through the halls of the esteemed U.A Academy, like he was now—but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to afford being late to his first class!

"Class 1-A… Class 1-A…! Where is it…!?" Izuku muttered to himself, panting as his constant running was taking his tool on the boy, until he finally found it—

A big, _Grande red_ door with '1-A' almost inscribed on the front of it—For added measure, a sign was above said door, saying 'Class 1-A' to those that might've missed it.

'Th-This is one big door…!' Izuku felt in shock once more, first the practical exam's gate, now his own classroom— _Did U.A just have a thing for big entrances!?_

Realizing the implications of opening said door, he felt nauseous about facing his potential classmates—One of them being Katsuki Bakugo, giving him an awful glare, just like back then—

" _Once we see each other again," Ochako continued, holding out a fist "We'll be working hard to become the best heroes possible!"_

Izuku remembered the girl—Ochako Uraraka, and the words she said the last time he was in this school, and held a determined face, "Thanks to her, I'm actually here now! I can't stop now! —"

Opening the door, he was greeted by the sound of—

"Get your feet of the desk this instant!" Tenya Iida, exclaiming so loudly about desks—

" _Hah_!?" And the person Izuku dreaded the most, Katsuki Bakugo, wearing a shit-eating grin like usual, as Tenya Iida continued.

"It's the first day of school, and you have the nerve to disrespect this school and it's property! What are you, some _delinquent_!?" he spoke loudly, passionate about protecting the school's integrity—

But Katsuki simply just had a laugh at his behavior, "You're joking, right!? What, your old school taught you how to put a _stick up your ass_!?" Katsuki spoke in response, his crude language disturbing the neighbors slightly.

"Man, that guy's really got a mouth on him." A girl with pink skin noted, her face turned into a crass look.

"So noisy…" A man with a bird's head spoke, his eyes closed.

"Not very romantic language, _Je Dirai… (_ I'll say)" The blond kid with perfect curls said with a straight face, his eyes almost glittering.

Whatever Iida had to say, noting the other students' reactions, he simply stopped, then placed a hand on his chest, "Let's start over: I'm Tenya Iida, from the Somei Private Academy—"

" _Somei,_ huh!?" Katsuki suddenly spoke out loud, interrupting the man from speaking, "So, you must think you're better than me, is that right!?"

"What? No, that's not—" Iida tried to speak, but Katsuki pressed forward,

"Don't worry there, _four-eyes_. It just gives me a better reason to _end you_ in this stupid school anyway!" Katsuki threatened, and Iida looked simply _shocked_ , as he let out a sharp gasp.

"Wha—You would threaten me!? _Your own classmate_!? Are you _sure_ you're in the right place!?"

"Doesn't sound like it, _Kero"_ A girl with a tongue sticking out of her mouth, spoke her mind, hearing the conversation.

"Yeah, I'll bet! That guy needs to be sent to _Anger-Management_ classes, before taking on this one!" A man with incredibly red spiky hair spoke aloud, feeling heated over their argument.

"N-Now, don't you think that's a bit harsh!?" A voice, what sounded like a girl, came from a desk that had only two floating gloves, and a school outfit.

"So noisy…!" The bird-guy spoke, only just a little bit louder this time…!

" _Pah!"_ Katsuki let out an indistinguishable noise, hearing their classroom chatter, before turning to the Entrance—

And this time, Katsuki's eyes narrowed dangerously, something that sent Izuku felt chills over,

" **Deku…!"** he muttered, and managed to catch the entire classes attention, as they all also looked over to him—!

"Ah…!" Izuku, noticing that all of the classroom's attention was on him, felt quite a bit sheepish… as well as terrified, seeing Katsuki glare _daggers_ at him, "Hiii~…!" Izuku's voice cracked, as he tried to dodge everyone's attention, by looking up to the ceiling—

"Izuku Midoriya! Morning!" Tenya Iida's voice was a little bit sharp for his liking, but that was probably only because of his high-strung argument with Bakugo.

"Ah—Good morning, Iida!" Izuku responded in kind, and the boy curtly nodded.

"Izuku Midoriya?" a boy with electric-blond hair spoke aloud, as he scratched his chin, "Wasn't that… the name of the first-place winner on the Practical Exam…?"

"No way… that guy…?" A girl with dangling headphones for earlobes replied in disbelief, "I wouldn't believe that… He looks to plain, too simple-looking…"

"First place, you say?" A girl with a long ponytail spoke, her finger under her chin in a thinking pose, "That guy must have talent to earn a place like that…"

"…" A boy, in the far back of the class, with glacial ice covering one side of his body, remained silent over the conversations between his peers. Likewise, a golem-looking man who sat in the middle of the class, also remained silent—tense, as if easily scared at the slightest movement.

"I must say, Izuku, you truly have surprised me during the exam," the man with glasses began speaking, catching the 'plain-looking boy's attention, "Not only have you shown your ability to fight during the exam, you also managed to figure out the secret behind the practical exam…!"

Trembling ever so slightly, Iida held out his hands in a bowing-like fashion, looking away with a pained expression, "You've once again proven to me… that between us, you're truly the superior student…!" His voice croaked with sorrow, and Izuku sweatdropped at his performance.

'Aren't you overreacting just a little bit, Iida…?' Izuku only wondered, but never spoke aloud, as it was like Iida used his hands to almost _prostrate_ himself into a lower position. Izuku could only find it in himself to laugh at Iida's shortcoming—

"Hey! I recognized that messed-up hair!" somebody spoke loudly behind Izuku—and he noticed, right away, the sound of her voice.

'It's her…!' Izuku turned around to see—none other than Ochako Uraraka, the girl who gave him support that day after the exam!—

"Falling Boy!" She exclaimed, and Izuku almost faulted, being called such a nickname.

"F- _Falling Boy_ …!?" Izuku spoke, exasperated at such a nickname, not finding the ability to even be embarrassed at being so _close to her_ — _ **oh my God, she's really close!**_

"Hehe! Kidding, kidding!" she spoke, laughing, and Izuku felt his face heat up, as she looked at him with grateful eyes, "I knew you'd make it in, Izuku…!"

Izuku felt his heart almost stop entirely, and his face went nuclear, 'Izuku…! Izuku…! Izuku…!' the way she said his name, was put on repeat in his head, and he slowly covered up his face…!

"Y… Yeah…!" Izuku muttered, his voice covered by his arms, "Th… Thank—"

"I mean, why wouldn't they, those Pro Heroes must've gotten an eyeful at how you blasted that huge robot, back then!" Uraraka suddenly exclaimed, as she held out a fist, waving it back and forth, "You sent that robot reeling with one huge _explosion_! Seriously, it was so amazing! It went like, 'Ka-boom!' and stuff!"

All the while, Izuku had a burning face, as he looked away, blushing very hard, "R-right! Ha… Haha!..."

"Someone like him can do that!? Wow! Explosions sound pretty cool…!" A buff dude, with thick lips, finally spoke up, cracking his knuckles all the while, his eyes focused on the green haired boy.

"Explosions, huh…?" The ponytail girl spoke, overhearing their conversation, until—

" **Oi!"** Izuku jumped at the harsh tone his friend-turned-enemy yelled with, and looked to see Katsuki stepping on the desk with one leg, his arms next to each other, blowing up constant explosions,

"Don't get the wrong idea, you bob-headed bimbo! Deku over there **stole** my quirk! Exploding villains is my power, not his!" Katsuki nearly _screamed_ , making sure the whole class heard him!

"K-K-Kacchan!?" Deku reeled back at his declaration, surprised at how blunt he was at Izuku's quirk, 'Oh no, this isn't good! If he convinces the class that my quirk steals other quirks, then—!'

" _How could you something like that!? Stealing quirks!?" Uraraka turned away from him, "You're… You're a_ _ **monster**_ _! —"_

Izuku's body began trembling wildly, as the person he was thinking of was just behind him! —

"Hey, who are you calling a bimbo!?" Uraraka cried out, obviously offended, "And I doubt you two have the same quirks! Could _**you**_ defeat one of those huge 0-point robots yourself, like Izuku did!?" she exclaimed, pointing both her fingers at Izuku, catching the hothead off guard.

Remembering how easily Izuku blasted that huge robot in the footage, Katsuki stammered for a moment, "O-Of course I could—Who the hell do you think I am!?" Bakugo exclaimed, his pride tarnished once again—

"That didn't sound very confident…!" A guy with large appendages on his elbows, looking almost like tape-rollers, spoke with a large grin.

" **And who asked you, huh!?"** Katsuki exclaimed at the guy, and said guy didn't back down. In fact, his grin seemed even bigger!

"Why would he go after a 0-point robot in the first place?" A man with a large tail pondered, looking confused.

"I'd pee my pants if I had to go up against one of those huge things!" A small kid with purple balls for hair spoke crudely, getting very interesting glances from his neighbors.

"Are you all finished?" A firm yet tired voice spoke outside the class, catching everyone's attention, "If you stand around and fight amongst yourselves, then do it outside of the classroom."

"Ah…?" Izuku and Uraraka both spoke at the same time, and slowly turned around… to find a lump of yellow on the ground—oh wow, that lump of yellow has a face—A very worn-out one at that!? "Ueeeh…!?"

'W-Wait!?' Izuku, recovering from his initial shock, had a good look of his face, 'That's the guy… that I had the Written Exam with…!'

" _You should throw away the hope of getting into U.A—" "I'm only saying this for your own good. Goodbye."_

Izuku felt his body start trembling once again, 'No way… first Kacchan… now him…?' His eyes started watering; His first day was already turning out to be an awful one! 'Could… Could he be our…!?'

"Welcome to U.A's Hero Course…" the man, Izuku remembered his name—Aizawa, right? Izuku watched him fish out something from his sleeping bag and suck it up, nonchalantly. He felt his classmates Iida and Uraraka cringe at the sight.

"And if you take more than ten seconds to shut up at the start of class, then things need to change. Immediately." His voice, despite what he looked, sounded firm and absolute as he took off the sleeping bag, showing the outfit that Izuku saw him wear earlier, large white wrappings around his neck and all…! "Time is precious, and rational students would know that."

'Aizawa! That's his name…! But, I don't remember hearing any Pro Hero starting with that name!? Who is he!?' Izuku, trembling with nervousness, tried to think rationally—but it wasn't any good.

"Hello. I'm Shouta Aizawa. Starting today, I'm your teacher." Everyone except Izuku showed some signs of shock.

"This guy's our teacher…?!" The redhead spoke in a harsh whisper, "Dude looks like he's ready to take a nap…!"

"Why…!? Why couldn't it be some hot lady instead…!?" The purple-ball kid also whispered, crying some tears and cursing his awful luck.

"Let's get right into it," Aizawa then shuffled through his yellow sleeping bag, and pulled out a blue gym uniform, with the letters 'UA' on the front, "You'll find these in the desks your assigned to. Put them on, and meet me outside." He ordered, and everyone else, including the ones who were previously aloof before, reacted in surprise.

"Huh…?" Most of them responded, and Izuku clenched his teeth, fearing for the worst…!

'Somebody like that… Somebody like him…!' Izuku's mind continued to run frantically,

" _Then you won't be getting in that easily, unless by some stroke of luck, you manage to earn yourself a place at U.A, then you have proved me wrong."_

'He's on to something…! He doesn't look the part, but… He's going to be a tough teacher, I'm sure of it!' With determination in his eyes, he stared at the teacher.

Something that didn't go unnoticed by Aizawa.

* * *

Walking out in the hallways once again, the students were in their gym uniforms, and heading outside towards the location their teacher asked them to go to—The U.A practice field.

One of the students, none other than Izuku, had a shaded look on his face, which was in stark contrast to his previous behavior before class started—

"Izuku?" his look disappeared immediately when he heard Ochako call out his name, and he looked back with a slight blush,

"U-Uraraka-san!?" Izuku stammered out, "H-Hiya!" he spoke, and if it weren't for her next question, she would've laughed at his funny behavior.

"You were looking kinda depressed there for a second. What's up?" Ochako asked, her voice concerned, and Izuku was surprised at how keen she was!

Izuku's eyes went downcast for a second, remembering his previous thoughts, before speaking, "Remember, back at the entrance after the Exam…?" Seeing her nod, Izuku continued, "I was talking about a teacher, who laughed at me after I asked if I made it into U.A…?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Ochako pressed on, and Izuku held his forehead,

"Well…"

* * *

Aizawa, after placing a pack of syllabuses on the presentation desk in the front of the classroom, double-checked his roster of classmates that were in his class. His eyes noticed right away, one "Izuku Midoriya" labeled on the sheet.

" _I only received 18 villain points during the practical exam." Looking up at the not-his-teacher Aizawa, Izuku continued, "Will it be enough for me to get into U.A?"_

" _Have a look at the scoreboard…!" One of the judges said proudly, to the rest of the teachers that awaited the results of the Practical. And at first place, stood Izuku Midoriya, with 18 Villain Points and 60 Rescue Points, "Wow, that Izuku kid must've been quite the hero, getting that many rescue points to begin with!"_

" _He wasn't like Katsuki Bakugo, with his sheer fighting power, but he definitely pulled off something amazing, defeating that 0-pointer with only one hit…!"_

"— _You of all people should know the answer yourself." Aizawa shrugged, "I mean, 18 points alone is a stretch to be Top 500, with how many participants coming in today."_

Aizawa felt a headache rise up, staring at the name for a good thirty or so seconds. Aizawa wasn't really one to throw U.A 'Hopefuls' into the garbage, but after waiting for him to recover, and finally arrive in the classroom—

…That wasn't an excuse. Aizawa knew that. He was being realistic with him, that boy had his head so high up in the clouds— dreaming of being a great hero, a behavior that was so comparable to another teacher he knew of; All Might, himself.

Maybe he was out of line, saying that? Maybe Izuku did have some sort of potential that he didn't notice right away?

Aizawa sighed, "Troublesome…" he muttered, before grabbing his things and beginning to head out of the classroom.

* * *

" _ **What!?**_ _**That's**_ the guy!?" Ochako couldn't help but cry out in outrage, and Izuku flushed at her loudness. He saw other students looking at them, as well.

"Ye-Yeah. He's the one," Izuku gulped, clearing his throat, "That told me that I wasn't going to make it in."

"That's so mean!" another voice made itself present, and both Izuku and Uraraka jumped behind them to see—a walking uniform!?

"What the!?" Ochako gasped in surprise, and two gloves waved back.

"Hi! Sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation!" a girl spoke, and Izuku noted that it was the uniform, talking, "My name's **Toru Hagakure!** I couldn't help but listen to your conversation—" seeing their evident surprise, her gloves held out peace signs, "Oh, and my Quirk's **Invisibility,** just to let you know!"

"Oh, that's why! That's so cool!" Izuku suddenly shined in amazement, and if Toru could be seen, she would be blushing at the sheer awe coming from his voice, "That would be perfect for things like stealth! That's an awesome quirk for a hero!"

"Th-thanks! Anyways!" She moved the conversation forward, bunching her gloves into fists, "What he said was so uncool! I'm already not liking the sound of our own teacher!"

"We-well, it's not like it matters now! I mean, I got in anyway, so it's not like what he said turned out true! —" Izuku tried to rationalize what his teacher said before, but—

"Got in!? You got _first place!_ " she suddenly exclaimed, and Izuku already was scratching the back of his head, as she continued, "It's not right for a teacher to say something like that to you, anyways! He really should apologize!"

"I'll say," another voice came through, and a man with red spiky hair stepped up, a fierce grin on his face, "Throwing somebody else in the dirt like that is just not manly. I agree with what she said!"

The man pointed a thumb towards himself, "Name's **Eijiro Kirishima**!" He moved that same hand with the thumb, and made it flat, with all fingers sticking out—before suddenly sharpening it rock hard, his hand entirely transformed into something—like a weapon, "And my quirk's **Hardening!** Not that you had to know, or anything, but seeing your reaction to her quirk made me want to show off, too!"

"Incredible!" Izuku glowered, and the man smiled to himself, eyes closed, "Your quirk makes your hand solid as a rock! Could you do that with your entire body!?" Izuku asked, and the man's teeth shined bright!

"You got it!" He responded proudly, before turning off his quirk and crossing his arms, "You know, for a guy who got first place on the exam, you're not half bad!"

"Th-thanks…!" Izuku could only say, his cheeks bright red at the attention he was getting, a warm bubbily feeling in his heart—

"What's your quirk, then, Izuku?" Izuku's eyes widened, that 'bubbily feeling' ceased hearing the invisible girl ask out loud, before hearing her laugh, "Sorry, that's your name, correct? I overheard it from Uraraka-san here—and I heard her name from you… Hehe!" apparently her stalking skills were on point, as she laughed it off like it was nothing.

"Yeah, I'm curious, too? Something about explosions," he looked all the way towards the front of the hallway, to see a brooding Katsuki with hands in his pockets, "But that guy also said you stole his quirk, or something…? Not quite sure what his deal is with you, though..."

"I-It's…!" Izuku began loudly, catching their attention, before watching as Izuku scrunched up his face in frustration, "…complicated."

"What? How can a quirk be complicated?" Eijiro spoke out loud, taking on a laughing face, before noticing the serious vibe coming out of Izuku, "…oh shoot, you're serious?"

"Izuku…?" Ochako called out, finally getting her voice in, looking at his frustrated look—

"Well, no matter!" Toru cut the tension in half, almost easily, "I'm going to have to be extra-careful with our teacher, hearing what he said to you! Thanks, Izuku!"

"Y-You're welcome…?" Izuku didn't knew what he was being thanked for, but he had to thank her, just for dodging that conversation about quirks, saving him the trouble of explaining his own ability…

One that he wasn't too sure that it would be received well, by his classmates.

* * *

" **What!? A Quirk Assessment Test!?"** All of the students of Aizawa's classroom, at least the ones who were most vocal about it, exclaimed.

Ochako stepped forward, a concerned look in her eye, "But Orientation…! We're going to miss it!" she spoke, but Aizawa had his back on facing the class.

"If you're going to all become heroes, then we can't waste time on pointless ceremonies." Aizawa spoke, his voice still holding firm, and what he said earned a few gasps from the classmates.

"Pointless? I thought those kinda things were important for students?" The man with the big lips scratched his cheek, obviously confused.

"Whatever. Didn't want to sit around for an hour anyway, so any reason to skip that is fine by me." The girl with the earphone jacks shrugged, indifferent.

"But what if All Might was giving the presentation!?" The guy with electric-like hair spoke immediately after she said that, holding out his hands, "Isn't he going to be a teacher here, this year!? I wouldn't want to miss that!"

"Then maybe if you quite your babbling, you won't." Aizawa spoke louder, and the electric boy froze, his form straight like a board,

"Y-Yes, sir!" he exclaimed, his voice shaky. The girl with jacks for earlobes sighed.

"Here in U.A, we're not tethered to traditions," Aizawa began speaking, and left no room for interruption, "Which means I can teach my class the way I see fit." Saying this, he looked over to said class, and his intense stare received a few unsure gasps for quite a few classmates—Ochako included, Izuku noted.

"You've been taking standardized tests ever since Middle School, however you were banned for using your Quirks while taking them," that said, Aizawa held out a phone given to him by the school, and on it were eght particular tests—the same as the ones they've took before in other schools!

'Softball pitch… Standing long jump… Fifty-Meter Dash…!' Izuku read off the names of a few tests, and gasped, 'He's right! These are all tests we've taken before… But now—'

"Today will be different," Aizawa cut Izuku's train of thought, as he continued, "The department of Education banned quirk usage to avoid singling out students with weak or no Quirks. They've tried to make all students equal, and for those that aim to be heroes, that's something that needs to be addressed in the future,"

Tired of the needless rambling, his eyes shifted over to Izuku, and said boy stiffened in response.

Aizawa seemed to think about something for a long second… before shifting his gaze over to Katsuki,

"Bakugo," he spoke, and Izuku held back a sigh of relief.

'Why did he look at me like that…!?' Izuku could only wonder, as the hotheaded boy near him gave the teacher his attention,

"You've gotten the most villain points during the Practical Exam. Your control over your quirk must be pretty good for something like that," Izuku noticed how the teacher praised his childhood friend, despite being the one to get first place, and felt a little sour over the development, "Tell me, how far could you throw a softball in Junior High?"

"67 meters, I think." On the dot, Katsuki responded, although his answer didn't raise any eyebrows.

"Head over here, and take this," Aizawa watched the young man walk over to the throwing range, and tossed over a ball—a softball, to be precise, towards him, "Try using your quirk this time. As long as you don't exit the circle, anything you do is fine."

Katsuki straightened himself after hearing this, before having a massive grin, all the while giving Izuku a massive stink-eye, "How convenient…" he spoke coldly, and Izuku felt the back of his spine brush up in fear.

"I've been bottling up some very strong feelings for a while now! I think this'll be a perfect time to let 'em loose…!"

Katsuki started stretching his throwing arm for a bit, before getting into position—His arm started crackling with raw explosions, once more…!

Tossing the ball, he added a little 'omph' to his fire, by saying, in a very _refined_ manner—

" **DIE! ! !"**

 ***BOOM! ! !*** And just like that, the softball soared with a trail of fire and smoke behind it, launching into the sky like some sort of mini-rocket.

And despite his initial fright, Izuku could only watch the display with a deadpan-look in his eyes, "…Oh boy…" Izuku murmured, seeing how his childhood friend brutally murdered that softball.

"Holy crap, that's intense!" Eijirou spoke loudly, behind Izuku, as they watch the softball land hard on the ground, what seemingly looked like miles away from where they were.

"All of you must know your capabilities with your quirks," Aizawa spoke up, bringing the class back into attention, as a soft *click* could be heard from his phone. Aizawa turned over to the class—

[705.2 METERS] And held out a phone to them, saying the data that was on the screen, "It's the best way we can figure out your potential as a Pro Hero."

Once again, the class was in shock at the display Katsuki showed them, having a clear divide between what he said his Junior High Score was, compared to now.

"Woah, over 700 Meters, no way!" Pikachu-boy spoke aloud, and the pink-skinned girl got all fired up next to him,

"I wanna go next! This looks like _fun_!" she exclaimed, her eyes glowing with mirth.

"Now this is what I'm talking about! Being able to use our quirks as much as we want!" The guy with tape dispensers as elbows spoke up.

But, Izuku could notice, Aizawa's frown deepened, as his look was shaded, "Fun, huh…?" he spoke, almost like a whisper, before properly staring his class down with intense eyes, "You have three years here, in U.A, to become a Hero. Do you _really_ think it's going to be all fun and games? _Idiots…_ "

Saying that, Aizawa finally gained a smirk on his face, but for all the wrong reasons, "Today you will be competing against your fellow classmates by taking eight different tests to gauge your potential." There was a 'but' to that statement, as Aizawa's eyes narrowed, "It will determine who has the least potential in this class—The person who ends up in last place, at the end of these tests…"

Aizawa, particularly looking at Izuku while saying this, raised his head, "Will be _**expelled**_ on the spot."

" **HUH! ? !"** The entire class collectively shared their thoughts at the news, all taking it with mixed feelings!

A sharp bolt of anxiety ran through Izuku, seemingly amplified by the fact that his teacher seemed to stare at _him_ while saying this, and his body began trembling once again,

'E… Expelled…?' Izuku dreaded the thought—After working so hard just to make it in, there was a chance of him _still_ getting thrown out!?—

Izuku felt something press within him, something along the lines of determination, as Izuku's mind came in to save the day, 'Eight tests… _But I have eight quirks…_!'

Indeed, while some of them were not as legendary as One for All, just the sheer amount of variety he had should be enough for whatever test that might be tossed his way—And indeed, as he thought about the eight standardized tests, he could already put a quirk on each and every one! —

He didn't need to just rely on One for All this time, and worry about breaking his bones! He… he had a chance at this! —

"Like I said," Aizawa spoke up once more, catching the boy's attention, as well as the rest of the class, "I get to run my class how _**I**_ wish, got it!? If this is a problem, feel free to _pack your things and head home right now!"_ Aizawa's tone got particularly harsher, coupled with the grin he had on his face, he was _intimidating as hell!_

However! —

" _You can't send one of us home!"_ Ochako made an outcry, and Aizawa's grin quickly faded away. Izuku could only watch her as she made her voice heard, "I mean—We just got here! Even if it wasn't the first day, doing something like that to anyone _isn't fair!"_

Looking at Ochako, Izuku could also notice the other students agreeing with her—And remembered that the other students would be here, taking the test with him.

" _But that guy also said you stole his quirk, or something…?"_ Izuku remembered what Eijiro said to him, in the hallway before. He started feeling doubt about using his quirk once more, the same anxiety that shot through him made itself known in his system.

"Not fair?" Aizawa repeated, almost surprised that Ochako stepped up to the plate, before speaking again, "So what, you think Natural Disasters are…?"

"Eh?" Ochako, as well as the rest of the class, was surprised at the sudden analogy, as the teacher continued,

"Or villains who go mad with power? How about them? Maybe even catastrophic accidents that wipe out entire cities? Is that fair?" Aizawa didn't even let them finish the question, " **No.** "

Aizawa held out a hand, his tired eyes being more apparent than ever "The world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to combat that unfairness, and if you're going Pro,"

He clenched his hand, his face unchanging, "You have to push yourself to go even farther than what you're accustomed to. After today, for the next three years, U.A will send out terrible hardships to you, one after another, without any breaks in between…"

Izuku, despite the anxiety that he felt, started to realize just why this school was the top school for Heroes, the best of the best. From Aizawa's words, although they were incredibly harsh, they were realistic for those that wanted to become heroes—You were going to have to do your best, to be the very best!

"So Go Beyond!" Aizawa suddenly said, and Izuku almost immediately knew what was coming next— **"Plus Ultra-** style."

" _Learn both of these quirks, to the very best of your ability! Show me what you're made of, and Go beyond…!"_

" _ **Plus Ultra!"**_ _Both him, and All Might, spoke aloud—_

'That's right! I can't let All Might down for something like this!' Izuku clenched his fists, and felt inside him—the swirling potentials of all the quirks he learned since today!

Izuku looked at Aizawa, to see him motioning his finger in a 'Come forward' like-fashion, "Show me that it's no mistake you're here."

So, with that thought, Izuku decided… that he was going to use both of his quirks, **to beat this test, and solidify his spot in U.A!**

Around him, the other students were getting fired up as well. Aizawa nodded to himself, "Now let's stop wasting time…" Pressing a button on his phone, he brought out the tests once more,

"Let the games begin…" He said, his voice almost uninterested, but his face showed otherwise.

* * *

 **By this time, the documents going over 39 Pages long. Sheesh, looks like I'm going to have to do a two-parter.**

 **That just means the next chapter will be very… quirky!**

 **So, all the tests coming up, I'd like to hear your best guess for which quirk suits the test best? Who knows, you might even convince me to change thing up a bit…?**

 **[Tests]**

50-Meter Dash

Grip Strength

Standing Long-Jump

Repeated SideSteps

Softball Pitch

Endurance Running

Upper Body Exercising

Seated Toe-touch

 **[Izuku's Quirks]**

 **All Might — One For All**

 **Inko Midoriya – Helping Hand/Attraction of Small Objects**

 **Hisashi Midoriya – Fire Breath**

 **Katsuki Bakugo - Explosion**

 **Endeavor – Hell Flame**

 **Best Jeanist – Fiber Manipulation**

 **Backdraft – Hydrokinesis**

 **Kamui Woods - Lumber**

 **Think carefully, yeah?! I'll await your answers, so until the next chapter, I'll see you all later!**

* * *

 **Kirito77:** Thanks, I really appreciate it! I'll be doing my best to make those cinnamon buns roll together, just be patient! Stuff like this takes time, after all!

Hope to hear from you again real soon!

 **toonlink111:** Yeah, not spoiling anything in particular, but if your concerned, then no, Katsuki won't stay like he is right now. He's just pissed and butthurt over Izuku stealing his thunder. He'll get over it… hopefully. Really, who knows?

Thanks for your review! Hope to hear from you again!

 **Bald All Might:** I see what you did there—better make that an account before you lose it, it's pretty funny!

Oh yeah bud, **the class will be doing quite a bit of reacting the next chapter.** After all, he's the guy who got first place in the practical: He's bound to get some attention!

Hope to see you again Saitama!

 **Twain apprentice:** I'm very happy to hear you say that! I'll keep pumping them out the best I can, so just stick around, okay? Thanks for your many reviews, it means a lot to me!

 **Victorsmyname:** Hahah, thanks again man! Glad you're appreciating these things, makes me happy they're noticed! Thanks again for reviewing, hope to catch you again soon!

 **ReverendRevenant:** Will do! Hope you can review again real soon!

 **The man of many talents:** Who knows? What can you do with your hands, hmm? Probably doesn't take a mind like Izuku's to pull something like that off, right?

(Thanks for your review bud! Catch ya later!)

.

 **Too lazy t'login:** Nice name, lol. **This guy's onto something…!**

 **Sk2dydid:** Oh boy, I sure hope so! And I hope you'll stick around to see it happen!

(Later review) Oh yeah, no, somebody just mentioned about how a chapter followed the anime closely, and how it slowly turned boring for him.

Yeah, I don't necessarily want to break away from canon, but I want to make things as interesting as I can—Which ends up turning to these long chapters in the end! Sometimes I feel like I don't aim for a page, and it always ends up turning into a 40-page jampack chapter, lmao!

Regardless, yeah, it seems like I can only be satisfied making huge chapters at this point, so I hope you enjoy them regardless! Thanks again for your reviews!

 **Domoko:** HAH! Glad you enjoyed it! Izuku's still fifteen after all, guy's gotta have a hero fantasy here and there! And yeah, I can see Ochako doing that!

Hope to see you again soon, buddy!

 **Guest (Two):** Heh, glad you enjoy Izuku having Hell Flame! Y **ou'll really enjoy the next chapter, after this two-part chapter. Katsuki won't know what'll hit him!**

 **Mr. Lucksman:** Thanks for your review! You keep coming back for more, and I'm positive I'll keep making more! Have a good one!

 **Guest (One):** Glad you like it! Really gives room for development if you ask me. I'm enjoying myself writing Izuku as he develops, rather than just write him as some God or whatever, lol!

Thanks for your review!

 **Angryboy13:** Thanks, although the comic's gotten some very mixed feelings in the sites I've posted—Going to learn from it, for the next comic that I make, of course!

Glad your hyped! Keep supporting me, and this bad boy's sure to keep rolling through!

 **Johnny Spectre:** Lmao, now you know why!

 **Saun-Jay Samuels:** Thanks! I feel like I can really establish a great story with this version of All for One, and I hope you think so as well!

*Nervous chuckling* More like Chapter Six, with the way I write pages at the moment. Seriously, somebody stop me if I'm doing something wrong, but I simply just want to make sure all plotholes are plugged before I continue!

Maybe I'm paranoid, who knows? Lol

 **MIKE202303:** Thanks for your support, man, as well as your constant reviewing, but trust me, my story's definitely not perfect! I hope you enjoy it regardless, and hope to see you again soon!

 **ShiningStar32:** Thank you once again for your support, and I really appreciate the praise bud! Yeah, wanted Izuku to develop so family relations before we got going with the next arc. I wonder where Hisashi is in Canon, as well. I just went with the fan theory that he's over at the U.S, doing work there.

Katsuki will be a little sour over losing to Izuku—but hopefully, he'll learn to get over it. No spoilers, of course!

Take care bud! Thanks again!

 **GM10:** Haha! Who knows? But for now, Katsuki just going to be a really sour piece of TNT, that much I know!


	6. Chapter 6 - Understanding Application P2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **No, I am not dead, just** _ **really**_ **busy.**

 **I'll explain in depth what's happening at the end of this chapter, but here's the short answer: I have college, work, and a bunch of distracting video games (I'm a human with hobbies, sue me.)**

 **I'll TRY to aim for a two week upload schedule at least, but if that doesn't happen, just assume I'm studying for the Midterms.**

 **In the meantime, review and favorite when you can. I promise, when the breaks come around, I'll be on this story in a heartbeat.**

 **That being said, review responses down below. Please enjoy the next chapter of, "My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!"**

* * *

' _That's right! I can't let All Might down for something like this!' Izuku clenched his fists, and felt inside him—the swirling potentials of all the quirks he learned since today!_

 _Izuku looked at Aizawa, to see him motioning his finger in a 'Come forward' like-fashion, "Show me that it's no mistake you're here."_

 _So, with that thought, Izuku decided… that he was going to use both of his quirks,_ _ **to beat this test, and solidify his spot in U.A!**_

 _Around him, the other students were getting fired up as well. Aizawa nodded to himself, "Now let's stop wasting time…" Pressing a button on his phone, he brought out the tests once more,_

" _Let the games begin…" He said, his voice almost uninterested, but his face showed otherwise._

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Understanding and Application (Part Two)_

* * *

The test started off with a **50 Meter Dash** towards the finish line. The goal was simple enough: Reach the finish line as fast as possible.

 _When I watched my classmates take on this test, I was quite surprised at what they had to do to win—Even the two classmates I was talking to the most, Tenya Iida and Ochako Uraraka, caught me off guard with their unique attempts at tackling each challenge._

Tenya Iida and the quiet girl with the long tongue, **Tsuyu Asui** , started the test off with a bang, both nailing the test with high scores thanks to their quirks.

However, Tenya was just more suited for the challenge than his competitor: His quirk **Engine** was, without a doubt, made for running.

"I need more distance to run faster…" Izuku could hear Tenya talk to himself, "For now, Third Gear is as fast as I can go."

'Wow! Tenya Iida's incredible!' Izuku glowed at seeing his performance, before cursing himself, 'Dangit! I really should've brought my notebook out here!'

 _My class had a good reason to think outside the box—Everyone only had one quirk, their whole lives. They knew exactly what to do with their quirk, for every situation. Some had the clear advantage, while others—_

Izuku watched with slight shock as the man with the huge tail, **Mashirao Ojiro** , made powerful leaps like Tsuyu to help reach the finish line—

 _Others had showed incredible flexibility, being able to perform hard tasks, easily. It was that ability, to make your quirk work in multiple situations, that made for some great heroes…_

His attention went back to the other contestant, none other than Ochako Uraraka, who was simply satisfied with beating her Junior High score.

Izuku couldn't help but smile at her optimism. It something she simply _radiated_ around her.

 _However, I'm very different than any of my classmates—_

"Midoriya. Bakugo." Aizawa called out, and the boy felt his form stiffen, "You two are up. Let's go!"

'Wait! —' Izuku had a sudden shock up his spine, and he felt the urge to stare at his childhood friend, just by hearing his name coming from his teacher's mouth, 'I'm facing Bakugo already!?'

 _Since I've just gotten my quirks, both_ _ **All Might's**_ _quirk_ _ **One for All**_ _, and my very own quirk—one that I'm not sure what to call, yet._

Izuku nervously walked up to the starting line of the track, and felt Bakugo's hard stare from a mile away. Izuku tried to say something, his mouth opened to speak, but! —

"Deku," his childhood friend beat him to the punch, as his face took on a serious look. Izuku already felt the tension that was being shot his way, as Katsuki continued, "You've been getting on my nerve this entire day."

Kacchan clenched his fists, and Izuku felt himself stiffen even more, "This class is stupid enough to think you own my quirk, and that alone pisses me off!"

"What're they talking about, over there?" The pink-skinned girl standing with the rest of the students asked, and Tsuyu simply placed a finger under her mouth, her tongue sticking out a little,

"Dunno… Whatever it is, it sounds pretty intense, _kero._ " She commented. Ochako watched with a confused face.

'Did he just call him " _Deku_ "…?' she thought, watching how Katsuki used that pet-name to refer to Izuku.

"Enough bickering! On your marks," Aizawa called out, and Katsuki didn't hesitate to get into position.

Izuku, seeing his once-best friend get ready, felt himself stammer before doing the same, but before he could get ready—

"Don't even _think_ about using my quirk, Deku, got that!?" Katsuki suddenly exclaimed in-position, and the intensity of his voice made the boy reel back in shock, his eyes watering, "I never want to see it in _your_ hands, you useless bug!"

'K-Kacchan's yelling so loud? Doesn't he care that the teacher's here!?' Izuku could only think,

"Get set!" Aizawa continued, and Izuku felt his insides shrivel up, thinking that Kacchan's once again getting away with his delinquent-like behavior.

'Do-Does the teacher not even care about what Kacchan's saying!?' his body began trembling, as Junior-High memories started returning hard and fast.

"Because, if you do end up using it," Kacchan continued, still talking about his power, before he leered at the boy with cold, red eyes, "The very first chance I get, I swear to you, Deku, I will obliterate you from the face of this Earth...!"

Izuku felt a cold feeling wash over his entire body, hearing his once-childhood-friend say that. Despite being so close to forgetting it, all he could remember was what happened over three months ago, the way Kacchan threatened him like before! —

" _Go_!" Aizawa suddenly shouted, and Katsuki made no hesitation to run for the goal. Izuku, however, had a bad start, almost tripping on his own shoes, before running.

Izuku watch Katsuki use his **Explosion** quirk like thrusters to propel him to the finish line, and felt the urge to do the same—

Only for pure fear to overcome his being, at the prospect of using the boy's quirk only to end up with even more hate on his hands. And while Izuku knew he had more quirks to spare, more quirks to offer him the advantage in this situation—

[ **4.13 SECONDS!]** A robotic voice reported, as Katsuki made it to the finish line, and Izuku could already feel hot tears in his eyes…

If there was one thing that hindered Izuku's incredible thinking capabilities, and ability to think-under-stress, it was fear. And fear had its toll on Izuku.

[ **9.15 SECONDS!]** Izuku felt his body shaken at hearing his score—It was awful, worse than the time he had back at Junior High.

'No… Way…' Izuku could only think, his body panting to regain some of his lost breath, and he could feel Katsuki's glare on the back of his head,

"Glad we can come to an agreement, _Deku_ …" And with that, he watched his childhood friend simply walk away from the track, hands in his pockets as he got a few stares from his peers.

"Man, what the heck did he say to that guy!?" Eijiro made a comment towards Katsuki, looking at Izuku with a nervous expression, "He didn't even use his quirk during the test! He looks shaken-up!"

"Alright, would the next runners step up to the plate please." Aizawa continued the tests, and seeing how nonchalant their teacher was, most of the other classmates forgot about the incident immediately.

Ochako looked over to see Izuku rubbing his face, and felt tempted to ask him what was up—

" _I-It's…!" Izuku began loudly, before his face scrunched up in frustration, "…complicated."_

Remembering how tense Izuku was before, she hesitated, '…Maybe I should leave it for later…?' Ochako thought, giving a nervous smile, 'I think I might've been bugging him a little too much…'

Settling for that, Ochako looked on to see the next contestants, as Izuku had time to think for himself.

* * *

 _Both of my quirks, I've gotten in such a short notice._

 _Compared to everyone else, I have nowhere near the same levels of control or experience, to properly handle my powers as professionally as they have…!_

Izuku felt the initial nausea of losing so badly to Katsuki fade away, and feel his mind clear up. However, the same binding fear he felt before, the idea of stealing other quirks and earning everyone's ire, came back twofold because of his teacher's lack of action.

 _But even then, I felt the urge from deep within—to become the greatest superhero, come forward and burn inside me. I_ _ **wanted**_ _to step up to the challenge, to prove I'm not the same useless person I once was…!_

'Fine…!' Izuku gritted his teeth, as he felt his fears being squashed into dust. His eyes, wet from before, were re-kindled with passion, 'If Kacchan… doesn't want me to use his quirk…!'

Clenching his fists, he once again felt the staggering power of the quirks he's learned from within them. His courage went soaring through the roof at the feeling, and despite his first test ending awfully, he _couldn't wait_ for the next one.

'Then…!' Deku looked up with a firm look on his face, clear of any doubts he had before, 'I'll just use everything else that I've got!'

* * *

The next test was the standing long jump, and just like before, there were many students who showed off their quirks extremely well.

There was no surprise on Izuku's end when Kacchan used his explosion quirk like before to launch in the air and get the most distance out of the test possible. His results were staggering, compared to the average of 2.5 meters back in Junior High, Kacchan nailed nearly _**250 meters**_ using his quirk as a steady means of propulsion.

Afterwards, Aizawa simply had the temperamental boy head towards the gym for the next test.

Izuku watched carefully at his childhood friend's actions; using explosions in rapid-bursts made him consistently stay above ground, leading to the boy's success.

'So,' Izuku thought, looking at his hands, remembering how Kacchan essentially banned him from using his quirk, he thought of other means to ace the test in front of him, 'If I can't use explosions, then naturally the next quirk I should use is—'

"Midoriya," He heard Aizawa call his name, and Izuku looked to see his teacher give him a lazy glance, his face looking uninterested as usual, "You're up. Step to the line and get ready."

Izuku gulped down the biting anxiety that was in his system, but nonetheless, he continued to walk towards his starting point.

'I haven't used any of my powers for anything other than practice…' Izuku dreaded, hearing the voice in the back of his head speak in terror, 'So now, this'll be my only time where I **really** make use of my quirks…'

Midoriya stepped up to the line, and Aizawa followed up his speech, "You already know the rules; you've done this before in your previous school. Just land on both of your feet to make your record count. So long as you stay in the area, anything will do." Aizawa began walking away, "Begin when ready."

'On my two feet… right…' Izuku felt a dribble of sweat on his head, before wiping it and taking a deep breath, 'Okay… I got this…!'

Having some rational control in his head, he started thinking about how to tackle the problem—

Izuku smiled. **He turned so his back was facing the line, then held out his arms in front of him,** and closed his eyes.

* * *

"What's he doing?" The goth-punk girl with earlobes, **Kyoka Jiro** , spoke her mind, watching the scene with interest.

"He's beginning to believe." The Pikachu-haired boy, **Denki Kaminari,** responded almost immediately afterwards, before laughing as Jiro gave him a heated glare, _(1)_

"You said that on _purpose_ , didn't you?" Jiro spoke with irritation clearly present in her voice, and Denki had a grand smile!

"Did-ja get my reference? Awesome!" Denki looked over to Izuku with an interested look in his eye, "But seriously, I have no idea what he's doin—"

 ***Fwoosh!***

"Oh hey, is that _fire_ coming out of his hands…?" Denki deadpanned, as he watched Izuku start lighting on fire.

"Wha…?" Jiro blinked at his sudden change of tone, before looking herself to see—Izuku's body glowing aflame, and it managed to catch the others' attention as well.

"Uraraka," Tenya Iida spoke next to the girl in question, as she watched idly by in shock, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Midoriya here was supposed to have an Explosive quirk, correct? Something like Bakugo's quirk, right?"

"Y…" She watched with baited breath, as the flames around Izuku grew stronger and stronger, mainly around the arms, "Ye…s?..." she meekly responded, unable to find the answer herself.

"I see," Tenya placed his full attention to Izuku, "Then it seems Midoriya's quirk is more than we initially thought."

Despite being stunned, Ochako nodded to Iida's words, and continued to watch Izuku with biding curiosity…

Unknowing to Ochako, as well as the rest of the class, a boy with white-and-red hair was also feeling similar feelings, watching the display of pure and unkindled fire coming out of Izuku.

'That Quirk... It's just like…!' The boy's fists clenched, as his once-aloof attitude began changing into a slight scowl,

'My Father's…!?' he finished, as Izuku began opening his eyes, his eyebrows and hair lighting into a greenish-orange flame.

* * *

'It's hot… but…!' Izuku felt himself smile, as he looked at his form, 'It's not nearly as bad as I thought…! I can actually do this!'

'Now focus,' His eyes narrowed towards his arms, and he felt the flames surge around him, towards them, 'Bring all the firepower towards my arms and hands. Steady, and strong…!'

Izuku wanted to use his power by making his arms into glorified thruster, shooting out flame at its peak. At first, he thought he couldn't do something like that with his whole body on fire, so he decided to contain it into his arms.

He felt his arms start quaking with unbridled power, almost ready to burst. The raw amount of firepower excited Izuku to no end, but he kept his cool as best as he can.

He tried releasing a few bursts of flame, 'testing the waters', making sure there was enough power behind them to launch Izuku's body into the air—and sure enough, there was!

"Okay…!" Izuku felt himself exclaim, catching his fellow examinees' attention, "It's now or never!"

He aimed his arms slightly lower, and stiffened his back… before jumping! —

 ***FWA – PSSSSSSSSSH! ! !***

And felt himself launch into the air, and away from the line!

"HOLY _**CRAAAAAAP**_!" Izuku cursed at the sudden burst of speed, but unknowingly, whether it was sheer luck or skill, he still managed to keep in the air, and inside the area he was given!

* * *

"Woah! Midoriya's soaring like a rocket!" The Tape-shooting boy, **Hanta Sero,** exclaimed seeing the green-haired hero launch to the test area.

"That looks so _cool_!" The bubbling pink girl, **Mina Ashido,** laughed, holding out her hands as she watched with amazement, "He's so high up! I wonder if he can land the jump!?"

* * *

'Oh my God, _I'm_ _ **WAY**_ _too high!'_ Izuku Midoriya was freaking out in his head as he got a good look of where he was going. (Over his shoulder as he was still flying backwards)

'Ghh! My hands are getting fried just using this power!' Izuku looked at his arms, which were getting baked a nice pinkish color just from the heat, despite having **Hellflame** give him the resistance to withstand the heat—showing just how crappy his control over the quirk was!

He needed to stop using this quirk, before it _fries his hands straight off!_

'How am I even going to land!? I'm just going to plummet straight to the ground!' His eyes narrowed, as he began to think hard, 'I have to use another quirk! Something like—'

 _[I'm proud of you, kid.]_ Izuku's eyes widened, and he smiled when he thought of his father.

"My Dad's quirk! That's it!" Izuku thought out loud, before immediately cooling down **Hellfire** to a much controllable degree, and taking a big gulp of air.

As Izuku was falling towards the sand, he flipped over so his front was facing the ground, his cheeks began glowing slightly more and more red—

 ***PWOOOOF!***

Before he suddenly billowed out fire, like a dragon, towards the ground, the sheer force of the sudden flame pushing Izuku up, reducing the fall.

He felt the upper portion of his body go off-kilter, trying to spin Izuku's frame as there was no balance of force compared to before.

Izuku didn't shut off **Hellfire** immediately, however. He somehow, in the heat of things, managed to focus little bursts of flames in his hands and legs, to keep him balanced during his descent.

Quickly, but not _too_ quickly, he began descending, controlling his breath to determine how much force he needed.

'I'm… almost… there...!' Unable to speak, Izuku thought in his head, feeling his lungs lose its air quickly.

He was closer, closer, even closer to the sand. Like a human Lunar Lander, his **Hellfire** propped his legs slightly forward, as he reached suitable heights to land.

His two feet firmly placed themselves on the ground.

 **[435 METERS!]** Izuku panted as the robot announced his score. And Izuku let whatever breath he had in his mouth out in a big sigh, sparks of flame escaping his lips.

His body was incredibly hot, his arms hurt but not as much as he initially thought before, and he seemed to be more out of breath than he should be…

But he passed. And _he beat Kacchan_ as well, even without using his quirk.

He began walking away from the field, trying to regain his breathing, but he was smiling all the while!

As he walked back towards the crowd of students, he heard some of them cheer, even those he had recognized from before.

"Holy cow, Midoriya, you were _intense!_ " Eijiro exclaimed, holding out a fist, "Why didn't you tell me before your quirk was fire!? 'It's complicated'!? _Yeah right_!"

Izuku felt a bead of sweat on the side of his cheek, "W-Well—"

"Midoriya, what you did was incredibly dangerous! There was no reason to launch as high as you did!" Iida, almost like a protective father, began scolding the boy, all the while flinging his arms in a chopping-like fashion.

Laughing awkwardly _, Izuku could hear Aizawa call out a name_ , but couldn't quite hear him properly due to all the attention he was getting—

"Your arms," Izuku noticed the girl with the black ponytail, **Momo Yaoyarozu,** speak up, her eyes fixated on his arms, as he cradled them, "They look red. Are you hurt?"

With the way the girl spoke bluntly, it didn't do much to ease the rest of the classmates who also took notice, and began to have worried looks—

"I-I'm fine, don't worry…!" Izuku spoke loudly, trying to calm the upcoming disaster that might erupt from his class—

 **[515 METERS!]** The robot that recorded scores suddenly exclaimed, and it caught Izuku's attention how it was higher than his own score, as well as Kacchan's. He turned around to see—

A **HUGE** archway of ice, starting behind the white line but almost disappearing under the sheer amount of ice given out.

Frost blew away with the wind, as the structure, although was freshly made, had enough support to stay firm.

The frost blew towards the group, and they all felt the temperature drop a few-something degrees.

"That's a pretty big block of ice, huh?" The big man with big lips, **Rikido Sato,** spoke his mind.

"I hate it, _Kero_." The frog girl Tsuyu shivered as she held her arms, being very sensible to the temperature change.

Izuku looked towards the end of the archway, to see a man with a glacier of ice on one side of his body, begin walking back towards the group, and immediately noticed the man's stare.

Cold, hard eyes were focused on Izuku, and Izuku alone. While not having the rage-of-a-thousand-suns like Kacchan always did, his glare was icy, like a dagger, and it unnerved Izuku at how it was directed to him.

However, despite this, the stare was baseless, and had none of the hot fervor that Kacchan would give to him. At most, Izuku was concerned what that stare was supposed to say to him.

What did he do to earn the Ire of this person…? This classmate that seemingly beat both him and Kacchan with ease, and without Izuku knowing...?

For now, Izuku didn't know the answer.

"Alright," Aizawa spoke aloud, gaining the class's attention, "We'll be heading inside the gym for the next test. Let's get moving."

* * *

The next test, as Aizawa brought the class inside, was a simple **Grip Strength** exercise:

"You will be holding one of these Scale Devices, with one hand, and putting as much pressure on the grip as possible," Aizawa held out a somewhat big piece of metal, with a grip and display on it, "They're specially made for quirk users with strength enhancing quirks. Have at it"

But unlike the other test, everyone could get started at the same time. And while everyone was eager to get started, Izuku couldn't help but simply watch everyone give the test their best shot.

However, something became apparent right away.

"Grrr, this sucks!" Mina exclaimed, holding her pink hands into fists, "I can't use my quirk on _this_! I'm only getting the same score as I did in my last school!" The device in her hand read out on the screen, **[68 psi]**.

"Haha! You can't complain about something like that, Mina!" Eijiro exclaimed, his red hair danced as he laughed, before he suddenly hardened his arm and pressed against the grip of the device.

Seeing it read **[208 psi]** he smiled brightly, "You had your chance to shine in the running test, right? Naturally this test gives me the spotlight as well!"

"You're only saying that to make me jealous, aren't you!?" Mina exclaimed at the boy, and he could only laugh some more—

"Woah, you got over 400!?" The two (and Izuku) suddenly heard Denki exclaim, his voice almost as electric as his quirk just from his excitement.

They looked over to see him and the giant man with tentacles on his back, **Mezo Shoji,** look at the screen that the latter was holding. And sure enough, it read **[423 psi]** on the device.

"'Spotlight', you said?" Mina teased next to Eijiro, and said boy's face dampened.

"So unmanly…" He murmured, feeling dejected.

"That's _insane_!? What the hell do you eat to get that strong!?" Denki continued speaking aloud, and watch as one of Mezo's tentacles suddenly change into a mouth.

"It's my quirk…" he spoke firmly, a voice coming out of the protruding mouth, with a tone calm and serious, "My tentacles can change into anything. They're durable and can handle at least a ton or two, if I use all of them." He spoke easily about a task that most other humans, even with quirks, can handle.

"That's _crazy_ …" Denki quietly spoke out, contrast to his behavior before.

"He's like an octopus!" The midget with purple balls on his head, **Minoru Mineta** , couldn't help but exclaim, already seeing dozens of movies not appropriate to talk about on T-rated fiction fill his head.

…but the others don't know about that. So, it's okay.

Meanwhile, Izuku couldn't help but look at the man in awe at his feat. At the same time, he was feeling a little self-conscious about his own capability in the test—

" **Stupid freaking** _ **box!"**_ Izuku suddenly heard his childhood friend exclaim, and turned to see Kacchan toss the Scaler onto the hard gym floor, uncaring about his instructor's previous instruction—

"Woah, chill out dude! You're way too angry!" Sero reeled back when he did this, his eyes on the scale to make sure it wasn't broken.

"Zip it, you friggin' tape measure! This damn test sucks!" Katsuki roared out, and Sero's eyes were shaded, sweat on his face.

"'Tape measure'? he whispered, out-of-place when he heard that.

"Oi. Bakugo." Katsuki turned to see Aizawa walk up towards the boy, "You need to cool your temper before I send you to the principal's office."

"Tch." Katsuki, looking at the teacher, shot his head away almost immediately afterwards, "Fine."

Katsuki ended up looking towards Izuku, and naturally, he sent a sneer his way, but before Izuku could instinctively reel back—

"You all have five more minutes. Let's pick up the pace here." Aizawa lazily called out, snapping Izuku back into attention.

'Right! Can't be distracted now!' Izuku's lips thinned, and he held the grip forward as far away from his body.

It was a simple choice between Best Jeanist's **Fiber Manipulation** and Kamui Wood's **Lumber.** Those were his best options for this test, as the only other quirk that could be better was **One for All—**

Remembering his broken bones back then using said quirk, he immediately rid the thought of using said quirk. Although it was his idol, All Might's quirk, he simply had no way of preventing his bones from breaking.

'I don't want to end up ruining this shirt, like my last one…' Izuku saw the scene play out in his head, and thought against using the power, 'So **Fiber Manipulation** is a no. That means **Lumber** is my best bet!'

Feeling his skin crawl, he watched his hand take on the consistency of a Birchwood tree, small twigs branching out from his fingers and the back of his hand… before they twirled around the grip slowly, methodically.

"Hey, look at Midoriya!" Hagakure, the invisible girl, suddenly exclaimed, catching nearby classmates. Izuku felt his concentration break, stopping the twigs from moving, but proceeded to gain it back.

'I can't get distracted.' Izuku reasoned, feeling his 'skin' get tighter and tighter as the branches wrapped around his hand twice, three times now.

"Isn't that wood…?" Jiro wondered, watching the boy's hand transform into a pretty complex-looking bush with no leaves. Denki walked over to the girl, all the while staring at Izuku.

"Yeah, looks like it! Kinda reminds me of Kamui Woods, huh?" Denki put his two cents in.

"Fire _and_ wood, though?" Eijiro spoke up, looking at the sight himself as he scratched his red hair, "Those quirks aren't exactly peas-in-a-pod, y'know. They just don't work together."

'What the _**hell…!?'**_ Katsuki gritted his teeth, watching Izuku scrunch his eyes in focus, 'How is he doing this!? Is this another quirk he's copied!? That lying _**bastard…!'**_ he clenched his fist, something that didn't go noticed by Aizawa, but the teacher remained silent.

'This is…' Izuku stopped concentrating, feeling the branches push as far as they can go, and opened his eyes to stare at the device, 'The best I've got…!'

'Here goes _nothing_!'Like a Boa Constrictor, his branches suddenly twisted and closed on top of his hand, and Deku pressed as hard as he could—

 ***Beep!*** Izuku heard the device ring out, and looked to see the score. His heart fluttered.

 **[302 psi]**. That score was nearly four times better than the one he got at Junior High!

"Nice job, Izuku!" Ochako suddenly exclaimed behind him—and his face lit up like a rocket almost immediately, the device jumping out of his hands, making Izuku play catch with it before finally holding it once again.

"Th-Th-Thanks, Uraraka-san! I-I mean, it's definitely not the _best_ score, nothing like that big guy! —" Izuku stuttered out, and she laughed,

"What're you talking about!?" she spoke aloud, her face having a smile, "I think you beat more than half of the class as it is!"

While Uraraka was talking with Deku, some of the other students were watching with a careful eye.

"Fire _and_ wood..." The half-man, half-bird student, **Tokoyami Fumikage** , kept a comment to himself as he watched the scene, "What an odd quirk mutation… Very unnatural."

"I think it's pretty cool, _kero._ " The birdman blinked as he heard a voice next to him, and noticed Tsuyu standing near him, her tongue around another device as she took the test herself, "Villains would never expect a quirk combo like that."

"…" Fumikage, usually being reserved during conversations, finally sighed after Tsuyu looked at him expectantly, "Especially with somebody as plain-looking as him." He finished, before turning around to walk outside.

Tsuyu, blinking, had another glance at the green-haired boy, who was blushing furiously at Ochako's constant praise.

A small smile came across her lips, "Cute…" she murmured, watching with curiosity at Izuku's exaggerated motions.

* * *

The very next test following suit was the **Repeated Sidesteps** , a simple task that involved the classmates performing 50 consecutive sidesteps in a small area—

* **Boin—Boin—Boin—Boin…***

And currently, much to everyone's disgust, the small pervert Mineta was currently beating everyone at the task.

Izuku watched with shock, along with the other classmates outside his vision, as he beat the 50 jumps with a stunning [ **12 SECONDS]**.

"Awww Yeahh!" Mineta exclaimed, jumping high for someone his stature, before leering at the female populace of his class, "Are you ladies _impressed_?"

" **No."** Collectively, they responded, with a small, " _Kero_." Coming from the back of the group.

Almost like somebody shot the poor guy, Mineta reeled back in surprise and shock, before holding his heart… and slowly proceeding to leave the stage, feeling dejected.

Noticing that he was up next, Izuku initially felt startled, before shaking his head, 'Alright, let's do this!'

Compared to before, he felt much more confident in his quirks, and their help in the test. However, he noticed that he was always topped by somebody else.

Just like the purple-ball-haired kid, those two other students before him in the other exercises had incredible scores, topping his own.

Izuku couldn't help but feel doubtful about his placing. These students were _intense_. They _all_ had incredible potential of being heroes, just from their quirks alone.

So then, Izuku hoped, that he placed somewhere among the ranks as well. He's done each task so far with a pretty good score. Well, every task except the 50m Dash—

Shaking his thoughts away, Izuku regained his focus, and held out his palms on either side of him.

'I might need to thank him later for this idea, but…!' Izuku, thinking about Mineta's performance, had a good idea on what he could do here. And using Backdraft's quirk, **Hydrokinesis…!**

 ***Wooooosh!*** Like strong faucets, water escaped out of nowhere inside his palms, startling the students. The water slowly accumulated on the ground… before building up to become two small blobs on the floor.

" _Water,_ too!? Isn't that breaking a few, I dunno, _Natural Laws_ at this point!?" Denki, helplessly confused, watch the scene with exasperation.

" _Mon ami!_ His quirk's a _trifecta_! Three winning powers in one!" Throwing big words both French and English, **Yoga Aoyama** commented with excitement.

"This is ridiculous. Is there no end with this guy!?" Sero exclaimed. Next to him, Bakugo seethed.

" _Dekuuu...!_ " He was not a happy camper. Katsuki was not appreciating how Deku was stealing the spotlight so easily.

However, as Izuku kept pouring the water out, his breaths became labored, 'With **Hydrokinesis** ¸ I can make something like water beds. I'll just bounce on them for each sidestep, just like the guy before…'

Sweat started to roll down his face, 'I never… used this much water before.' His eyes slowly became lidded, 'I'm… kinda feeling…?'

'Dehydration…?' Aizawa noted, releasing his arms from the crossed position as he stood above the class in the very back of the group, 'And It's looking serious, too…' for a moment, Aizawa felt tempted to stop the boy—

Izuku then suddenly halted the flow of water coming out of his palms, and let his arms fall to his sides. The two blobs of water on either side of him stood his height, but were looking pretty thin.

For a moment, nothing happened, and some of the students noticed how heavy Izuku was breathing.

"Hey… Is he okay…?" Mina Ashido couldn't help but speak, a little uncertain as to why he wasn't moving.

Ochako looked over with concerned eyes—

Until Izuku suddenly turned to one of the water blobs— _and charged right into it!_

 **[TIME – START!]** The robot nearby called out—

But was ignored as Izuku suddenly launched to the other side, water splashing around as he did so, as his body pressed onto the other blob—

And just like that, almost like Mineta, Izuku was suddenly being shot left and right by the water blobs, which were still keeping their consistency as he did so.

[ **10!]** The robot exclaimed at his first ten reps, and Izuku smiled a little.

"HEY!" Mineta exclaimed, finally noticing the similarity, his eyes in tears, "HE'S COPYING ME!"

"Relax, there's no need to be jealous!" Eijiro laughed, watching the poor boy cry out in tears, "It's just a test after all—"

 **[20!]** The robot called out.

"Yeah, let's go, Firewood!" Hagakure, who was standing invisibly next to the tailed man Ojiro suddenly shouted.

"' _Firewood'_?" Ojiro was a bit confused at the name, unsure whether to laugh or not at hearing it for the first time.

Unfortunately for Izuku, he also heard Hagakure call out the ridiculous nickname, and felt his face get hot from embarrassment. However, he also felt his concentration slip—

Unlike before, with the grip test, however, there were some dire consequences.

One of the water blobs that was bouncing Izuku suddenly deflated, sinking into the ground almost immediately, not being held up by Izuku's quirk anymore.

So instead of Izuku bouncing off that water blob… he bounced off nothing—

Before he knew it, his body slid off the designated area.

 **[DISQUALIFIED.]** The robot called out.

"Wha…t?" Izuku's heart sank at hearing it, his once-tired eyes grew wide at the sound.

"Oh no…!" Ochako also gasped, surprised at the sudden development.

"Why did the water suddenly go away?" The man with the large stature and big lips, **Rikido Sato** suddenly asked, feeling very confused at the moment.

"He lost focus." Sato felt bristles come up his spine when he heard his homeroom teacher suddenly speak up, as Aizawa gained the attention of his class, "He got carried away, and lost track of the goal that was right in front of him."

"I…!" On the ground, Izuku looked towards Aizawa with what was a mix of denial and frustration, before settling with looking at the ground, in dejection.

"As a result, Midoriya here will not receive any points for this exercise. Take his loss as a warning, class," Izuku looked back to Aizawa—

He was holding out his phone, and it held all the placements for each student, shocking some who weren't prepared to see their scores just yet.

Izuku watch his place, go from a well-nestled Third place, following not too far behind from Kacchan and a " **Shouto Todoroki"** as far as points go—

All the way down to 18th place, as everyone scored much better than Izuku with his poor first test, and this latest test worth zero points.

Izuku felt fear stab his heart, constantly, over and over again, 'No way… I blew it…!'

"Let's proceed with the next student. Jiro!" Aizawa called up the earlobe-jack girl, and she proceeded to step up to the area—

Izuku took notice of her slightly concerned stare, as she passed him. Izuku just couldn't meet her in the eyes.

He avoided everyone's stare, and kept himself to his thoughts.

And yet… for some reason…

" _Did'ja hear? Izuku doesn't have a quirk!"_

A bitter, nostalgic feeling welled up in his heart. The feeling of being useless around his classmates came through to him once again.

" _Huh? Doesn't everyone have a quirk?"_

" _Apparently not! My mom told me it was called being 'Quirkless'."_

" _Wow, that's so boring!"_

"Midoriya! Stop holding up the class and get moving already!" Aizawa, clearly annoyed, called out.

A knot in Izuku's stomach began forming, as he made his way away from the testing area. And Aizawa, despite his hard attitude, felt inclined to stop whatever he had to say, after that.

'He's just another hopeful… Another kid who has no idea about the real world…' Aizawa reasoned with himself, justifying his actions as Izuku purposely stood away from the rest of the class, 'His quirk is incredibly powerful, it's almost cheating compared to the other students… but even with all that power,'

Aizawa's lips thinned, as he watched Izuku rub his eyes, 'It all means squat to a person with no ability to control it.'

Aizawa turned to Jiro, as she aimed to complete the test to the best of her ability, 'Everyone here is so determined to win. So eager to out-perform each other… They're much better than the class last year,'

 **[35 SECONDS]** Jiro, despite having what was a better than average score, gave an annoyed glance at Mineta, who yawned at her achievement.

A small smirk formed on his lips, 'A class like this… might not be so bad after all…'

* * *

 _I had no other option. I need to use it._

 _I needed to use One for All._

The next test coming up was the **Softball Pitch.** The same test that Katsuki performed before everyone even got a chance to start.

Katsuki had an amazing score. **[705.2 METERS]** was an incredible contrast to the score he got back in Junior High. That was a score worthy of a hero.

At first, I wanted to use **Explosion** as well, just to see if I could land a better score himself, but my encounter with Kacchan, back at the 50m Dash, squashed the idea entirely.

After that, I was fine with settling with my Mom's Quirk; Standing in front of the ball and using it to pull as hard as I can,

 _ ***THWACK! !***_

" _ **OW!?"**_ _Izuku yelped loudly, falling on top of the chair—_

 _The salt shaker, rather, the one he was aiming for, was on its side, on the floor, salt sprayed all over the place…_

Just like before, with the salt shaker back home, I wanted to do the same thing…!

But after what happened with his last test, I just can't settle for mediocrity. I can't keep avoiding the very power that granted me a chance to get into U.A!

No matter what the cost, I _had_ to use One for All!

It was the only way… The only way to keep my place here, at U.A High!

" **INFINITY!?"** The class exclaimed, as Uraraka scratched the back of her head.

Aizawa held out her most recent score for the Softball Toss, and it was none other than a big Infinity sign, signifying that she got the maximum score that could possibly be obtained on this test.

"That's friggin incredible! Way to go!" Mina exclaimed, as loud as ever.

"I already know who _isn't_ going to end up last!" Denki made his comment.

When he said that, however, it gained the opposite effect on Uraraka, her face turning into a frown. Her mind immediately went to Izuku, the boy who saved her during the Entrance Exam.

Uraraka passed a worried glance at said boy, only to find Izuku looking away, a grim look on his face.

'Izuku…' Ochako was a very empathetic girl in general, but her heart was being pulled particularly for the boy that was having a hard time right now.

She wished she could do something, say something, anything…!

But… much to her dismay… There was just so much she didn't know about the boy. What he was capable of, what he could do for the test.

What his quirk was…

'It's complicated' was not a good answer, but it was something to start with. Izuku having the power to blow up things, only to be told it was copied—and _then_ see Izuku use completely different quirks afterwards?

It made the poor girl's brain confused. Quirks were supposed to be simple, weren't they?

 _Then what the heck is Izuku's quirk in the first place!?_

* * *

Before he knew it, Izuku Midoriya was up. Holding the softball in his hand, he looked at it, and started feeling doubtful.

'If I use this power, my arm's going to be broken…' Izuku thought the consequences, 'I can't do much in the tests after this that'll need my arm… But if I don't do this, I might end up failing the class…!'

Just at the thought of being booted from the school he worked so hard for, his face grew fierce. His decision was made on the spot, as he reeled his arm back.

Aizawa, however, was keen on many different types of quirks, including variations of strength-enhancing quirks.

He could tell from a mile away when a quirk like that was being used.

And seeing Izuku, using so much raw power in his arm as he began to throw the ball, almost felt disappointed for the man.

Closing his eyes only for a brief second, he then opened them once again—

And firmly shut off the young boy's power.

It didn't stop him from letting the ball sail into the air, and land right back down, almost immediately.

[ **45 METERS]** The robot called out, much to everyone's shock.

Izuku was stunned. Then confused. He looked to his arms, "What? But… I was using it…?" Izuku felt the rush of One for All, only for it to be suddenly nonexistent as the ball left his hand.

Before he could even think about any reason as to why One for All suddenly didn't work—

"I erased your quirk." His homeroom teacher suddenly spoke, and Izuku looked towards Aizawa as he walked forward—

Izuku felt chills seeing the teacher's eyes; They were bright red, and the whites around them had blood vessels curling on the outside—an incredibly terrifying sight.

Wait? Did he say he _erased_ his quirk!?

Izuku then noticed, once hidden under the white bindings around, a pair of dull yellow goggles, a specially crafted model, resting around his neck.

"Y-You're the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!" Izuku exclaimed, remembering the oh-so few encounters on the internet about him, with the little info it had, "That's why I didn't recognize you! You're a Pro Hero that hates the media! —"

"Don't change the subject." In a commanding tone, Aizawa halted Izuku's train of thought, as said boy stiffened at the request, "That quirk you were using was way too powerful for your own control. Were you prepared to break your arm, using it?"

Izuku felt his own tongue curl in his mouth when he heard Aizawa's question. The classmates nearby watched with confusion and worry.

"Man, the teach's really not letting Izuku have an easy time, is he?" The redhead Eijiro spoke up, giving the other students their voice back.

"Izuku, was it?" Yaoyarozu followed, repeating the boy's name just for caution, "Aizawa-sensei said something about him breaking his arm. I think he was going to try another ability to beat this test?"

" _What_!? Another quirk!?" Denki exclaimed, his voice exasperated once more, "God, what is _with_ this guy!? Is there no end to how many abilities he can do?"

"It's only a hunch. I don't know for _sure._ " Momo blinked at how fast her classmate came to the same conclusion as her.

"Like a walking _Pandora's Box…"_ Jiro spoke, catching Momo's attention as she also agreed with her.

"Please take everything I say with a pinch of salt, you two!" Momo politely exclaimed, and noticed most of the other class was nodding to whatever she said, " _You guys!"_

"So what?" Aizawa, focused only on the boy in front of him, narrowed his eyes at Izuku's expression, "Were you going to expect another Hero to bail you out every time you use that power? Is that it?"

"N-No! —" Izuku cried out.

"Don't even bother. I've made my decision." Izuku felt himself shrink at Aizawa's absolution, "With _every other ability you've used_ , up to this point, you demonstrated poor control and lack of thought."

You went overboard with your strengths, and caused yourself harm in the process." Aizawa closed his eyes, and Izuku noticed how his hair fell down back to the sides of his face, "The judges weren't rational in passing you. The amount of destruction you've caused in your Entrance Exam wasn't in _your control_ , after all…"

"What's he talking about?" The invisible girl Hagakure asked aloud, and Tenya stepped up holding out his hands.

"During the Entrance Exam, he single-handedly defeated one of those robots worth 0 points, in order to save—"

Tenya, looking to next to him to see Ochako, who was watching Aizawa and Izuku talk with a worried eye, continued his speech, " _Another participant_ in the Exam." He concluded.

"Wow…!" Mina gasped, surprised at hearing Tenya describe Izuku's feat, "That robot was as tall as a _skyscraper_! No wonder why he got first place…!"

"Somebody like that would make an excellent Hero…" Ojiro spoke with a calm voice, smiling. That smile dropped, however, looking at Aizawa and Izuku in front of them, "But…"

Turning to his side, Aizawa tossed a spare softball to Izuku, "Go ahead, take your throw. We need to continue to the next test, anyways."

Izuku, with his head down, watched the softball roll up to his feet as Aizawa walked away, his mind clouded with emotions after the conversation they had.

So… what now? It seemed like whatever hope Aizawa had for him had been smashed away, just because he made one too many mistakes.

Izuku grinded his teeth, inside his mouth. Damn it… _Damn it_! This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

He was supposed to blast through this test, no problem! When using his quirks, he should've been more composed, more _focused_! Now, he blew it! —

Reaching out to grab the softball, he felt a murky black around his heart, and knots in his stomach. He felt cold. Was this it? Was his dream of finally being a hero, going to be squashed, here and now?

Feeling weak, he passed a glance to his classmates. They were all looking at him with various looks in their faces.

His eyes immediately rested on Uraraka—His heart pulled away, almost telling his body to do the same.

But before he did, he noticed Uraraka's expression change, as if she was mustering confidence. Her back straightened, and her eyes narrowed, before her mouth opened—

 _You can do it!_

Izuku felt warmth wash over him. She mouthed those four words, as clear as she could, towards him. No way… even _now_ , Uraraka had faith in him to beat this test?...

It wasn't something that Izuku was used to. Being relied on, being counted on. Even for something as silly as this—

 _[Izuku Midoriya, you make me so_ _ **FREAKING**_ _proud, you have no idea!]_ All Might…!

" _Izuku… Today, you've made your father the happiest I've ever heard him… You know that, right?" Both_ of his parents…!

And even now…!

" _We'll be working hard to become the best heroes possible!_

" _So don't give up just yet, you got that?!"_ Ochako Uraraka… also believed in him!

If he wasn't going to pass this test for himself… Then…!

Aizawa watch Izuku suddenly move, gripping the softball hard, as he faced the field. He held back a sigh, 'He's going to use it anyway, huh? Should've figured…'

Reaching for eyedrops, he motioned to his eyes, and applied medication on them, 'What a waste of potential…'

Izuku propped his feet to the ground, moved his body so his throwing arm was behind it, and took a deep breath… Before throwing! —

 ***PWAAAaaaah—mmmm! ! !*** An incredible current of wind blew around the area, all coming from Izuku!

"What!?" Most of the students shouted—

"What the _**fuck!?"**_ Katsuki was more vocal—

"Ghh!?" Shouto Todoroki let out a grunt, not expecting the wind—

"…" And their teacher remained silent, passing a glance at the ball, before fishing out his phone, waiting for the score to come through.

And it did: [ **705.3 METERS!]** the program exclaimed. Aizawa held back a smirk.

'He even beat Bakugo's score, by a hair's length… Just like the Entrance Exam—' Aizawa recalled Katsuki's score of [ **705.2 METERS]** , and felt the need to laugh at the absurdity of it all,

But then Izuku spoke up, "L-Look…! Can't you see…!?" he suddenly exclaimed, and Aizawa was compelled to do so, wondering where this sudden boost of confidence came up.

Aizawa saw Izuku, cradling his wrist which had a misshapen and bruised finger resting on top of it, 'He focused all of his power onto that one finger—'

Noticing Aizawa's eyes resting on his hand, Izuku balled that hand into a fist, and grinned, tears in his eyes from the pain,

"I'm _still_ standing!" Izuku exclaimed, adrenaline coursing through and trying to nullify his pain, "I'm not as hopeless as you think I am! Am I worthy enough for you, Aizawa- _sensei_!?"

Drawing out the last word, the teacher remembered the conversation the two had, after the Written portion of the Entrance Exam

" _ **Just**_ _Aizawa." The man's tone was forceful, making Izuku shrink in shock,_

" _I'm not your teacher, unless you have a class with me." He explained, his voice commanding Izuku noticed, "Until then, it's Aizawa."_

"This kid…!" Aizawa felt a wild sense of amusement at how hard Izuku was trying—and as he noted before, everyone in this class was the same way!

This class, compared to the one last year, had incredible potential, without a doubt. But even Izuku, who he had thought was doing whatever he could to get a good score, was _actually_ giving the test his all, the whole time!

This class… This damn class…!

Aizawa was going to have an interesting year with these brats. He was going to actually try to teach them a thing or two about being heroes, whether they like it or not!

And maybe, just maybe, they might end up walking out of this school as some of the finest heroes U. A's ever taught.

Well then, Aizawa was just going to have to wait and see!

" **Dekuuuuuu! ! !"** Said teacher felt his amusement get shot, hearing another student almost scream out loud, and turned to find Bakugo charging at Izuku, **"I'm really going to tear you a new one, you hear me! —"**

"K-Kacchan—" Izuku initially exclaimed, but noticed his childhood friend get caught up in a web of cloth, seemingly from the teacher's bindings.

"Guh! What the!?" Kacchan initially went to blow up said cloth, but felt his power not coming to his hands. Izuku noticed how red his teacher's eyes were, as he firmly held on to his equipment.

"I don't know what your reason is to suddenly run at Izuku, Katsuki, but I suggest you knock it off," Aizawa commanded from the side, looking very irritated, "I'm already getting a serious case of dry-eye from using my quirk so much. You better calm down, or its _you_ that'll be the one getting expelled, understand!?"

Izuku, despite being so close to the person who wanted to hurt him, felt an odd swelling of glee finally hearing Aizawa scold Kacchan for once.

Meanwhile, whatever Kacchan had to say to Izuku, was immediately shut down at the idea of this teacher giving him 'the boot'.

But looking at Izuku, his voice came out as a growl, fighting the urge to say it. _Say it._

" _Whose quirk was that!? Who the fuck did you copy to get that power!?"_

In the end, Katsuki felt like he didn't want to hear the answer to that. And knowing the damn bastard, Deku, he wouldn't get a straight answer anyway.

Katsuki felt the teacher release him from his 'prison', but remained still, as he clenched his fists in frustration. He watches Deku meekly run away from him, and gets conflicted feelings from the action.

Was Deku playing him, this whole time!? Was he hiding his quirk, this power to copy others, without him even noticing!? Was Deku playing him like a damn _fiddle!?_

'Damn it! Deku shouldn't even _be_ here! He's a worthless bug, a pebble in my path!' Katsuki rested his frustrated eyes on Deku, who ended up walking towards Ochako, while holding his hand, 'Damn it! _Damn it…!_ '

"Is your finger okay…?" Ochako immediately asked when Izuku was close enough. Izuku felt his face heat up a little.

"Ye-yeah, I'll be fine! Um…" Izuku bowed a little bit, surprising Ochako, "Thank you for your help earlier…!"

Ochako, knowing exactly what he was talking about, blushed in embarrassment at his actions, "Y-You don't need to bow! —"

"'Help'? What did you do to help Midoriya, Uraraka?" Iida, confused, asked the two, and Ochako waved her hands around, frantically.

"I-It's nothing, nothing at all! Nothing you need to worry about!" she waved it off, and Iida (along with the class behind him) was helplessly confused.

* * *

So, much to Izuku's plight, Izuku had to continue the last remaining tests with a broken finger. But thankfully, during the duration of these three tests, Aizawa _nor_ Bakugo came up to interrupt him afterwards.

The last few remaining tasks, **Upper Body Exercising, Seated Toe-Touch, and Endurance Running,** were less than stellar exercises—mainly because nobody could do anything particularly _awesome_ with these tests.

Seated Toe-touch started first: Touch your toes thirty times as fast as you can. Simple enough, right?

"Can I use my tongue?" Tsuyu immediately came up to Aizawa to ask at the start of the Seated Toe-Touch.

"No, you can only use your hands." Aizawa looked down at her, and watch her nod.

" _Kero_." She simply replied, and returned to her station to perform the test. Aizawa gave points to the girl for not freaking out—

"Gah!" Eijiro cried out, his face curling into frustration, "I'm not really the flexible type! I just remembered why I hated these tests last year!" Next to the boy, Mina let out a soft giggle at her classmate's plight.

"Even Bakugo and Todoroki aren't doing anything special…" The invisible girl exclaimed, holding out her hands, before pointing at Midoriya, "Although Izuku doesn't seem to be having any problem whatsoever!"

Izuku held back a smile, learning his lesson from before about losing focus, and kept doing the task at hand: He couldn't afford losing even a second of time.

However, he was pleased to know that using his mom's quirk, **Helping Hand,** definitely seems to be helping him quite a bit, as he felt the tips of his toes being pulled closer to him, giving him the chance to perform faster reps!

'Thanks, mom!' he couldn't help but think in his head, as he completed the test.

* * *

 **Upper Body Exercising**. Despite the name, it was _really_ only push-ups. The goal back in Junior High was 20, but for U.A. their standard was—

"Fifty push-ups." Aizawa nonchalantly spoke, his eyes half lidded, "Full-press, no exceptions. The girls are allowed ¾ of the full press. Nothing less than that."

Despite the daunting task for some, Izuku made his own record compared to his Junior High attempt. There were no quirks involved this time, just pure strength thanks to All Might's training plan.

However, some really unlucky individuals failed their first test.

"D-D-Damn… It…!" Mineta cursed with a high-pitched voice, his body sweating ferociously… before finally falling over.

"That's a shame… You were so close to hitting 30…" Aizawa muttered out, labeling Mineta's score a '0'.

"Slave… driver…"Mineta gasped out, and Aizawa deadpanned, before pressing a few tabs on his phone…

Observing it… until he spoke,

"Hagakure, you can stop performing the test." Aizawa called out, and the invisible girl stationed far away halted her latest push-up.

"Huh? B-But I haven't reached fifty yet?" she spoke, her voice surprised, but Aizawa held his phone towards her,

"You haven't been doing the test properly. Your form is bent and your knees are slanted," the phone played back footage of her, _**in infrared vision**_ _,_ from some camera ways away from the field, showing Hagakure poorly performing push-ups in comparison to others,

"Y-you've been recording us!?" Hagakure cried out, feeling slightly embarrassed over seeing her form on the camera. Aizawa's eyes narrowed.

"I always keep my students in check. These cameras make that easier," he turned around, "Especially those with quirks like yours, Hagakure."

"No way…" she whispered out, obviously depressed about her score.

'So Aizawa really wasn't lying about those 'hidden cameras' he had, back at the Written Exam…' Watching this from a few feet away, Izuku felt a little bad for the girl he didn't quite know that well.

If he was any lesser of a person, he'd think of it as karma biting her back after what happened at the Side-step test.

But he was better than that. He wouldn't wish that against anyone, not even Kacchan.

'I wonder if I should say something to her…?' Izuku first pondered the thought, but felt his tongue coil over his mouth over thinking about what to say—

He honestly didn't know what he could say for a moment like this? Sometimes he cursed how socially awkward he was…

"Hagakure!" Izuku suddenly heard Uraraka exclaim, and look to see her run over to the invisible girl—

And suddenly start _shaking_ her, back and forth!

"Wah! – Wait! – Uraraka-san!" Hagakure suddenly exclaimed, her voice shaky from all the… shaking.

Mineta looked up at the two, mainly at Hagakure's _chest_ , and felt blood coming out of his nose, "I… _Invisititty_ …" he whispered, before passing out from exhaustion.

"How! Could! You! Lose! To! Something! Like! This!?" Ochako chanted out, and stopped shaking her afterwards, as Hagakure held onto _Ochako's_ shoulders for support.

If Hagakure's eyes were visible, they would be spinning.

"I'm _sorry_!?" she cried out, horribly confused.

"That's okay!" Ochako suddenly exclaimed, smiling, "Because we're just gonna have to go twice as hard in the next one, right!?"

"R—" shaking her head, Hagakure appeared to nod, her hands close together in balled fists, forgetting about her previous troubles already "Right! I can't stop now just because of one lousy test!"

Her body shifted towards Ochako, and gave her a thumbs up, "Thanks, Uraraka-san!"

"No problem! Let's give this last test our best shot!" she mimicked Hagakure's stance, smiling all the same.

Izuku watched the scene with a warm smile, glad that somebody like Uraraka-san could come and save the day, 'Thank goodness…' he sighed, glad that he wouldn't go up there and possibly embarrass himself.

* * *

Finally, the last test arrived: **The Endurance Run.**

"Rrgh! _Deku_!" Kacchan exclaimed, his skin burning bright from all the explosions coming out of his skin. They didn't help his endurance, however.

The task was simple. Run for as long as you can, without stopping, around the track. The higher the time, the better your score.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Izuku ran next to the quiet student Todoroki, who had an icy sheen over himself and a focused look in his eyes.

Deku, himself, was glistening with shiny skin. Using Backdraft's **Hydrokinesis** quirk once again, he focused the water created from his quirk as a gentle mist, out from his pores to cool himself down. It helped keep himself cool, but he could feel the tugging on his leg muscles slowly start to win.

That, and Kacchan's constant screaming did not help the occasion.

Despite many students getting awesome scores for the 50m Dash before, their quirks proved poorly against endurance itself. Even Tenya Iida was sticking at the sidelines, having finished his time already.

"I don't get it… Why aren't you out there, dude? Aren't you supposed to be great for this kind of stuff?" Denki asked, confusion in his face.

Tenya nodded, "Indeed, I can run a course like this without breaking a sweat. However,"

His hand went towards the side of his leg, and pulled out a bottle with 'Tenya Iida' inscribed on it, "I appear to have ran out of Orange Juice before this test." he spoke.

"…" Denki, at first, thought the guy was joking, but seeing his serious face, he continued, " _…What?"_

"Let me explain—" Iida first started.

"Damn it Deku! Fall over and die already!" Kacchan suddenly screamed, earning a few sweatdrops from the class.

"Orange Juice is the fuel I use to power my **Engine** quirk. Without it, my engines are useless—they practically become weights when I run." He briefly spoke, and Denki smiled.

"Oh, so it's like your gas or something?" Denki paired two together. Tenya smiled himself.

"Precisely." Tenya replied.

"Deku, I'm going to rip you a new one if you don't stop, you broccoli haired motherfu—! !" Kacchan was screaming once more.

"Alright, **enough**!" Aizawa groaned out of his sleeping bag, irritated that his beauty nap was ruined, "All three of you win this test. It was taking too long anyway…"

"Wait—Seriously!?" Sero felt his jaw drop, vocalizing most of the other students' reactions, "It was only, like, five minutes of them running by themselves!"

"Yeah, some of us just stopped running recently!" Hagakure stood upright, obviously offended at the sudden ending of the test, when she just finished herself only a few minutes ago.

Aizawa yawned, before staring at the classmates hard in the eye, "Doesn't matter. Like I said before, this test is under my jurisdiction. And frankly, " Aizawa looked at the three runners that stopped running under Aizawa's call, "Those three were ready to run a _marathon_ to win."

"Argh… So unfair…" Denki stomped his feet, "I should've kept running if I knew about this happening…!"

"Take your losses and learn from them students. Now, let's proceed to give the results. Follow me." The students previously resting and watching the runners all got up, although most of them had sour faces due to the runners all getting max scores.

Panting and tired, Izuku felt a smile crawl when he heard that he got the best score for the test, however it immediately dropped when he heard it was result time.

'Aizawa said he'd be expelling the worst-performing student.' Izuku thought, regaining his breath, before looking at the students that ran with him.

Izuku looked towards the icy-boy, to see he was relatively unfazed, only having short of breath as a sign of being winded. Izuku felt surprised at how fit the man next to him was, not to mention how impressive his quirk is for keeping his cool during the run.

He was going to be a pretty awesome hero with that quirk, Izuku thought smiling.

Looking over to Kacchan, however…

Said boy was on all fours, panting heavily towards the ground, small busts of flame on his body signifying he was sweating _madly_. Unable to see his face, Izuku let his mind wander on what he was feeling right now.

Kacchan must've had an intense drive _not_ to lose to Deku, since he ran all on his own, his quirk only _hurting_ his chances to keep running. –

Since his sweat was explosive, Izuku knew it didn't do much to cool the body like normal sweat did. Izuku could only assume it heated up his body for quite a long time.

Katsuki was incredibly passionate. Or insane, but Deku wouldn't say that out loud towards him, of course.

Finally regaining his breath, Izuku followed the Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk user towards Aizawa and the rest of the class.

He did not see Katsuki behind him, as he balled his hands into fists, and grinded his teeth.

Katsuki was simply _not_ satisfied with the ending of this test.

* * *

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not expelling anyone."

Aizawa suddenly spoke as the results popped up, making the class jump.

" **What!?"** Like a bunch of airhorns the class exclaimed for the third, maybe fourth time today.

"Oh my _God_ are you serious!?" Jiro exclaimed, exasperated, tired of all the sudden curveballs this test gave out.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me! You've been lying to us the entire time!" Eijiro yelled as well, "That's uncool, man!"

"Use your brain, guys." Momo spoke up, unfazed about the new info, "The teacher obviously did this to make us perform our very best. Wasn't it obvious?"

" **No. It wasn't."** The more-vocal part of the class spoke up, namely Eijiro and Denki, as they gave sour looks to Momo.

Regardless, the results were up, and Izuku let out a sharp gasp of air.

 **[Izuku Midoriya: 5** **th** **Place|**

"Fifth…?" Izuku wondered silently, unable to believe his luck, "But… I dropped so low? How can that be…?"

"No _wa~ay_! I got last!?" Hagakure exclaimed, almost falling on her butt with the sudden realization.

"Don't get so down. It's not like you could do much with invisibility anyways…" Ojiro tried to rationalize with her, said girl sounding like she was about to cry.

"Not to mention everyone here has some pretty incredible quirks! I made 15th place, and I gave it my best run!" Denki exclaimed, stretching his arm.

"Speaking of quirks…" Eijiro looked over to Izuku, and said boy went tense, "Hey Izuku, you were awesome out there, man!"

"Erm… Thanks?" Izuku responded, before blinking as he noticed the class starting to stare at him,

"But man… What the heck is your quirk!? You were throwing fire, water, wood, and everything in between!" Eijiro laughed, but Izuku didn't laugh with him, sweat dripping on the side of his cheeks.

"…" Izuku chose to remain silent, looking at the ground, as everywhere else he stared, he met with somebody else's face.

"I'm kinda curious, too…" Denki spoke up, a slight smile on his lips, "Do you have a name for it? It's gotta be badass, I'm sure!"

"As am I!" Izuku went a couple shades paler, hearing one of his friends, Tenya speak up, "Midoriya, your quirk has peaked my interest. I would be happy to know what it is capable of!"

"I… I…" Izuku felt his voice shrink in fear, fear of being dejected.

Everything was going so smoothly, just using his quirk without fearing the chance of being interrogated like this. But now, with all of this attention on him, he had no chance of escaping! —

"As far as I'm concerned," Much to his surprise, it was Aizawa who spoke up and caught the class's attention, "Midoriya doesn't need to inform you of his quirk, if he chooses not to tell. To force the answer out of him, _like all of you are doing right now_ , would be a direct violation of privacy, punishable by school grounds." The teacher spoke firmly, making the three prosecutors stiff horribly, especially Tenya Iida!

"My humblest apologies!" Tenya immediately bowed forward, and Izuku felt bad almost immediately.

"N-No, it's fine!" Izuku tried to speak, but felt a tap on his shoulder, as he turned to Aizawa, who held out a slip of paper.

"Here. Take this head to the Nurse's office, have her check on your finger." Izuku remembered the dull pain on his hand, almost forgetting it for a second.

He took the slip almost immediately, before heading off inside the building once more, almost _glad_ to avoid any more questions from his class.

His fast-walking began to slow down, as he felt conflicted. Remembering Tenya's sudden, formal apology made him feel uncomfortable.

Unlike before, in the start of class when Tenya admitted Izuku of 'Being the superior student', Tenya apologized out of _fear_ of breaking the school rules.

Izuku felt his face sunken a bit. He didn't want others to hate him… but he also didn't want them to _fear_ him like that? Especially not Iida. Especially not Uraraka.

He stopped dead in the hallway, and held his head— a migraine started to form.

What an awful dilemma. Izuku was stuck in a bind, with no real answer in sight anywhere.

Being distracted by all the raging thoughts in his head, Izuku soon found himself facing the door leading to the Nurse's office.

'Maybe I shouldn't hide what my quirk is,' Izuku started reaching for the doorknob, 'I, at least, owe it to Iida after today…'

* * *

"As for everyone else, head back to the classroom to pick up a syllabus. Class is dismissed."

As far as Aizawa was concerned, he didn't waste a second to leave the area, and head back to the Teacher's lounge. Not bothering to check what questions his students might have.

He might as well leave that to Present Mic. That overzealous goofball would love the extra attention.

"That was very cruel of you, Aizawa!" A gallant voice, seemingly coming from nowhere, spoke up, making Aizawa raise an eyebrow and turn to the source.

"…All Might?" his voice was curious, but had very little surprise.

"Joking about expelling your class at the very end of the test is uncalled for. Not to mention your intentions were very serious, your class last year being proof of that." All Might pointed a finger at him, as Aizawa's eyes grew tired.

"But even so, if you haven't expelled a single student in this class, that must mean you see the talent in all of them, correct?!" All Might took care in not mentioning any student specifically when saying this, but his mind instinctively went to Midoriya, worried about how Aizawa might've singled him out at the get-go.

"How long have you been hiding over here…?" Aizawa's voice almost sounded concerned, ruining All Might's track of thought.

"That's beside the point!" All Might exclaimed, and Aizawa let out a sigh, unable to draw away the conversation any further.

"This class is… different." Aizawa started, making All Might perk up, "They all have the potential to become something worthwhile."

"Is that so…?" All Might held a thinking pose, and Aizawa closed his eyes.

"But," Aizawa spoke loudly, catching the other hero's attention, "I won't hesitate to remove somebody that starts to half-ass their work." His eyes slowly lidded open, "Especially Midoriya."

"And why's that?" All Might took care not to show surprise or concern in his voice, less he wants Aizawa to catch a clue, 'I was prepared for Aizawa to really drive the young man up a wall, but I thought he handled himself quite well? What's on your mind, Aizawa…?'

"I've said enough. Go back inside. Don't you have a presentation or something to do?" Aizawa snickered, and said man went tense.

"Oh shoot!" All Might cursed, before saluting the man, "I appreciate your reminder, Aizawa! Perhaps we shall talk about this topic on a later date!"

All Might didn't expect an answer, as he rocketed off towards campus with urgency, and Aizawa stared at his back as it grew smaller.

"I wouldn't count on it." Aizawa replied anyway, before having his thoughts to himself.

Feeling his eyes sting a little with irritation, he reached for his eye drops in his pocket, almost instinctively.

" _Am I worthy enough for you, Aizawa-_ _ **sensei!?**_ _"_ He could already feel his lips crawl up to a smile. How long has it been since a student challenged him like that? Tried to prove him wrong?

It really set itself apart from the usual drag that every semester brought. This class was something different, including Izuku.

" _Deku over there_ _ **stole**_ _my quirk. Exploding villains is_ _ **my**_ _power, not his!"_ Aizawa remembered overhearing his classroom's chatter, and took note of that particular fact from Bakugo.

"The power to copy, huh?" Aizawa mumbled, before treating his eyes, and blinking a few times for the medication to set in, "Teaching him's going to be a real headache…"

* * *

"Man…" Walking out to the school entrance, Izuku was partially slumped over, holding the hand that had the damaged finger in his chest, "I'm glad Recovery Girl healed me up so fast, but now I'm exhausted…"

Yawning, he proceeded to keep his thoughts to himself, 'A quirk like that would be amazing to have… To be able to heal somebody that quick is incredible…' Izuku sighed, 'It's too bad that her quirk's a **mutation** type. I don't think I can learn something like that just yet…'

Unable to think of it too deeply because of his exhaustion, he decided to just let it slide, 'Oh well… Can't wait to go home and rest—'

"Midoriya!" Izuku perked up when he heard somebody call his name, and Izuku turned around to see Tenya Iida running towards him with… a backpack, dangling on his arm?

"Iida? Hey…?" Izuku was confused, but nonetheless he greeted him.

"Thank goodness I caught up to you!" Iida exclaimed, before handing out the backpack, "It was on your desk. You were still at the Nurse's Office after Orientation, and didn't come back to class. I assumed it was yours?"

Izuku's eyes widened in realization, "Oh shoot! I forgot!" Grabbing his backpack, he almost bowed with relief, "Thank you very much, Iida! I owe you one!"

"That won't be necessary. I would expect the same from you if it ever happened to me." Tenya held out his hand in a stop motion, and Izuku nodded, smiling.

"There you two are!" Izuku was once again surprised, hearing Ochako all of the sudden, as said girl was running up to the duo with labored breath, "Geez, Iida-kun, you're fast!"

"Uraraka-san?" Izuku wondered, and she smiled.

"Are you two taking the train back home?" Seeing them nod, Ochako continued, "Sweet, me too! Let's all head back together!"

"S-Sure…!" Izuku, a little red, couldn't help but agree to the proposition, and Iida wasn't one to decline either.

"Hey Izuku," Ochako started, and said boy started to get a little hotter, "Mind if I start calling you Deku? I heard Katsuki call you that nickname before, back at class?"

'Deku' felt his embarrassment wash away, feeling awkward instead, "O-Oh. Well…" Izuku scratched his head, "The thing is… Kacchan calls me that to… well, insult me. It's not necessarily a 'good' nickname, so… yeah…"

Ochako held out her hands, "That sucks!" she exclaimed, causing Izuku to blink, "I think it would make an awesome Hero name! And it sounds pretty cute, too!"

Izuku isn't the greatest when it comes to talking to girls, let alone the one he has a crush on. Whether or not that's his fault is a different topic entirely.

So frankly, after hearing what Ochako said, he didn't think twice—

" _Call me Deku whenever you like!"_ Deku exclaimed, and Iida next to him looked shocked!

"What? Didn't you just say that name was an insult?" Iida was honestly confused at what he was hearing, and Izuku recoiled in embarrassment.

"Yes! – I mean no! – I mean! —" Izuku was rambling, and Ochako started laughing at his behavior, "This is different, okay!?"

It took a while for Izuku to cool his jets, while Ochako had a giggle fit, and Iida just shook his head at the sight.

"So Deku-kun," she continued, before looking at his hand, "I'm glad the nurse healed you up. Your finger looked pretty bad back there."

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku mumbled, looking back at the finger in question. Ochako's smile faded.

"Are… Are you still not okay with talking about your quirk?" Ochako suddenly pushed out the question, and Izuku went stiff, "Be-because, I mean, I won't force you, Deku-kun… but…!"

Her face grew serious, "I would really, _really_ like to know! So please!" her voice also sounded desperate, and Izuku felt pinned on his feet.

However, unlike before, with the whole class, and with Kacchan… talking about his quirk with just Ochako and Iida, people he's learned to respect and, most of all, _trust…_ then the risk didn't nearly seem as bad.

if it were just these two, then maybe it was worth a shot?

Looking over to Iida, he noticed the man had a straight face, but he was looking at Izuku with expectation and curiosity.

They really wanted to know.

Izuku, tired of bottling it in for so long, sighed, "Alright…"

Iida looked surprised, and Ochako was gleaming. Izuku looked back at them with a meek look.

"My quirk is… the ability to ste…" Izuku shook his head. No… Stealing is not the proper word for it, no matter how much he thought it was, " _Copy…_ other people's quirks."

"…" Ochako had a confused look on her face, before blinking, "Wait, that's it?"

'Huh?" Izuku responded in kind, and Ochako let out an annoyed groan.

"Deku-kun, that doesn't sound exciting at all! You made it sound like some taboo power or witchcraft, back with that invisible girl before!' Ochako was displeased, and Izuku wasn't sure how to react—

"Wait a second." Iida held up a thinking pose, catching the two's attention, "The fire ability you used, back in the standing long jump exercise—I knew it looked familiar!" Iida pointed at Izuku, "That was Endeavor's power, wasn't it!"

"Yeah, you got it." Izuku nodded, kind of feeling mellow about Ochako's previous reaction—

"Wait, seriously!?" Ochako suddenly exclaimed, surprising Izuku, "You copied Endeavor of all people? His quirk looks _insane_! How can you handle something like that so easily?"

"Well," Izuku reached for the back of his neck to rub it, "That's the complicated part. I had to practice getting the level of control I have." He closed his eyes and softly laughed, "And even then, I don't think I can match the same level as Endeavor."

"I assuming it's the same for the other quirks you've used, Midoriya? Those were all quirks that were from other people?" Iida asked, and said boy nodded, finalizing Iida's thoughts, "I see now. The quirk to copy other's quirks, but not to the same degree as the original wielder. That makes sense."

" _Oooooh!_ " Ochako had realization dawn upon her hearing Iida's explanation, "I think I get it now!" she exclaimed, before looking at Izuku,

"It more than just copying quirks! You need to practice with the quirks you copy to get better! That makes a lot of sense!" Ochako was pleased with herself, finally understanding the boy's quirk.

Deku sighed, "The way you make it sound Uraraka-san, it just seems less amazing, doesn't it?"

Ochako looked at Izuku with shock once more, "What're you talking about, Deku-kun!?" she spoke aloud, and Izuku reeled back.

"H-huh?" Izuku was taken aback, as Ochako held out her fists in a pumped-up fashion.

"I think a quirk like that… is _super-amazing_!" Ochako spoke with no hesitation, true to the heart, and Izuku looked at her with a flat look.

"…" Izuku was speechless, as Iida nodded.

"I agree with Uraraka. Your ability will prove to be quite useful fighting villains." Iida spoke, holding out his hands, "Theoretically speaking, having so many quirks can make you a force of nature! Like a _jack of all trades_ , per se."

"…you guys…" Izuku started speaking, his voice shaky.

"Yeah, what Iida-kun said!" Ochako laughed, "Deku, the force of nature, the jack of all trades! That sounds like an amazing hero to me!"

Deku felt his eyes start watering, and kept his visage down to avoid being seen. It was almost _dangerous_ how much of an influence these two were being to him.

After receiving All Might's power, he felt his world being flipped upside down, all that was bad about him was good, awesome, _amazing_! These two… were **crystalizing** that feeling. Capturing it, marking it on Izuku.

Deku was the name of a hero? A force of nature? A Jack of all Trades? _God, Izuku didn't know what to make out of all this!_

But deep down, he couldn't help but agree. He _was_ a force of nature! This quirk, along with All Might's power, was the very reason why he was going to become the greatest Hero!

Whatever these two said, Izuku couldn't help but agree, a hundred-fold.

Ochako started walking forward, "C'mon, you two, if we don't start moving we'll miss the train!"

"Good idea." Iida nodded, follow the excited girl towards the exit, barely missing Izuku rubbing his face with his arm, "Are you okay, Midoriya?"

"Y-yeah, just fine." Izuku responded, before smiling at Iida, "C'mon, let's go!"

And with that, the three were walking out of the school a trio. Izuku felt a strong weight lifted off his shoulders, and frankly, he felt ten times better afterwards.

This quirk, this amazing ability to keep the strengths of other heroes, had been received well by his new friends. He couldn't have asked for a better ending than this. Surely his luck was still going strong from here!

"Say," Ochako started a new conversation, "Does this mean you can copy Space Hero Thirteen's quirk, too?" she asked Izuku.

"Uh—" Izuku first started, then Iida perked up.

"Perhaps you've heard of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium, as well? Have you ever thought about copying his quirk?" Iida asked, his voice more persuasive than usual.

"Well, the thing is—" Izuku tried to explain the thing about **mutation** quirks, but was cut off by Ochako—

"Oh! Oh! How about the hero…"

And sure enough, Deku would understand just how passionate his friends were about heroes as well. Talking about their idol heroes, for the chance to see their friend do the same.

And frankly, Izuku wouldn't have it any other way!

* * *

 _A preview of what's to come, because I made you all wait so long:_

"You got it all wrong, Kacchan…!" Izuku exclaimed, looking down at his childhood friend, who had his back on the floor, "I'm no longer the same, useless 'Deku' you've picked on for so long…!"

" _Does that mean," Ochako looked at Izuku with curiosity, "You could copy my quirk as well…?"_

"From now on…!" Izuku's eyes were watery, but filled to the brim with determination, **"The name 'Deku'… is going to be the name of a Hero!"**

" _It doesn't have to be the best explanation, but I need your help to make this plan happen!" Izuku looked at Ochako with dire eyes, making her nervous, "Uraraka-san, please! Teach me how your quirk works!"_

Katsuki Bakugo started gritting his teeth, as he slowly got up from the cold, hard ground. His eyes were shaded, but his expression was anything but hidden.

" **Deku…** " he growled out, the palms of his hands started to smoke, "You've got some nerve, thinking you can stand up to _**me**_!"

" _The ability to take others' quirks, and to keep it for themselves'."_ _ **Naomasa Tsukauchi,**_ _a detective of the local police force, and Toshinori Yagi's closest friend, talked with said man over a few cups of tea, "That sounds like a more befitting description for this young man's quirk, don't you think?"_

" _The way you say it like that, Nao, you're making sound like Izuku's quirk is…" Slowly, ever so slowly, Yagi's eyes began widening, "Izuku's quirk… could it be… All for One?"_

"Have you been hiding this quirk from me this entire time, Deku!? You thought you could've had the drop on me, after so long!?" Kacchan started screaming, as Izuku hid away, holding his arm, "Whenever you've stuck around me like the flea you are, you were actually just focused on copying my quirk, huh!? **Is that it!?"**

'That's…!' Deku bit his lip, unable to speak out against Kacchan's lashing, 'That's not it _at all!'_

"Before this damn school, I thought you were useless! But I was wrong…!" Katsuki's knuckles were white, and his figure was shaking, " **You are actually the worst person I've ever met, Deku!** **And I don't think I can fucking STAND you, anymore, ya hear me!?"**

' _Just a useless bug in my path…!' Kacchan thought with scorn, looking at the back of his rival after the softball toss, 'So how the hell… did he get so much stronger…!?'_

" **First, it was my quirk! But you didn't stop there!"**

" _Kacchan's amazing… He's got amazing talent as a hero, and his academics are spot on. Not to mention his quirk is just as amazing…" Izuku's eyes lidded, and Uraraka was almost tempted to say something— "But… That's exactly why I need to beat him! I want to see if I can be better than him! To prove that I can be a hero, just as great as him!"_

" **You've copied other Heroes, too! I've seen those quirks you've used before, from the Pros themselves! Do you take me for an** _ **idiot!?"**_

' _Uraraka's quirk isn't working! What is it that I'm missing!?'_

" **But most of all…! You actually had the guts… to copy** _ **his**_ **quirk, too!"**

Red fury was covered in Kacchan's gaze, as his voice scream through the mic, screamed _throughout the building_ , " **You copied All Might's power! That was his quirk you've used to toss that damn ball! Isn't that right, Deku!?"**

* * *

 **Up Next! Chapter Seven – Appreciation!**

* * *

 **(1) That was a Matrix reference, for those that were out of the loop.**

Sorry about the whole **Unannounced-month-break that I've taken before this chapter. I've been writing steadily during Summer Vacation, but now that college is back, my whole schedule's in shambles. Had to get reorganized before deciding on doing the next chapter.**

 **On top of that, Activision thought it'd be great to drop of the final DLC of a COD title I play, along with releasing Destiny 2 on college week. The nerve!**

 **Finally got around to finishing these games (somewhat), so I'm feeling a lot better about writing. Again, please excuse my absence. I don't want to update the story just to say, 'ohai, I'm taking a break, yeh fuhk you.'**

 **As a reader that's a slap on the face… but not updating is also a slap. Which one's worse?**

 **Don't answer that. See you guys in the next chapter.**

 **Which WILL come. Be patient.**

 **Pls.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **ShiningStar32:** Sounds great! I try my best to make this interesting as much as possible. You guys have a knack for making awesome reviews, so thank you, really!

 **LL the Phantom:** Yeah, I'd kill for some extra sleep, too. Thanks for your support, hope you stay tuned in!

 **Gokuu the Carrot:** Man, you shouldn't play yourself down like that dude! I know you've got some creative potential in ya to make for some awesome scenes, I just need to hear it!

My update schedule is messy, but I'm aiming for two weeks max at best. I hope you'll be patient with me as I'm in college right now, but all I can suggest is logging in and fav/follow this story. It should give you a notification when this story gets updated!

Despite this, and the long month break, I really hope to hear from you again!

 **Lawless:** I really appreciate the in-depth analysis on which test should have which quirk. I've used quite a few ideas from you, simply cause they sounded right for the moment. It makes me really happy how much you thought it through, and I hope you stick around in case I might as for some creative ideas. You're definitely appreciated here, and I hope to hear from you again very soon!

Followup Review for **Lawless** – That softball scene is memorial, I couldn't just let it go lol. Thanks for the ideas anyway, just in case I went totally left-field for whatever reason!

 **GM10:** Yep, others definitely suggested the same thing, but don't let it stop you from reviewing! I always appreciate feedback especially when I ask for it. You guys are great, keep it up!

 **MIKE202303:** Thanks again Mike lmao. I hope you continue stopping by and review as you always have. It really Makes my day!

 **Gimmicky Nameguy:** Nice loophole. Sadly, something like that's probably not going to happen for a while. A long while. I wouldn't even know the consequences of something like that lol. Hope I don't break your dreams of infinite powah or something. I hope you review again soon!

 **Crimson-Wyvern:** Thanks for the review. I definitely have a tie between you and another reviewer for similar ideas, so just know that you helped just as much as the other guy, alright! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and get ready for the next one!

 **UnbuiltSkink333:** Thanks for the review. I could've swore I answered this in a dodgy-like fashion in the last chapter. Hmm? Well it _is_ an emitter quirk, right? So…?

 **Memento Mori – The Truth:** Yep! It's different! Of course I won't be using the real All for One! Really soils the development between Izuku and everyone else if that were the case! Izuku would never rip quirks out and leave the holders brain-dead.

Read the comic in chapter 4, if you're concerned. I made that specifically for readers who are curious/concerned about the development of Izuku's All for One.

 **Ultimate Hunter X:** Thanks for your review! I'm going to have to break your dreams a little and say no to that unfortunately… for now. While Izuku's quirk isn't the same All for One you know, technically nothing's stopping him from _learning_ how to steal quirks, right?

Should he ever decide to use it, however… is for a later date.

 **Victorsmyname:** I appreciate your review man! A big thing that I don't want to be left out is Class 1-A, and all of their characteristics and presence in My Hero Academia. It's definitely something that I try to work on during the story. I want it to be both entertaining and in-character, so I'll leave it to you guys, the reviewers to catch me if I mess up somewhere along the line!

 **Johnny Specter:** Thanks for giving some feedback for the tests bud. Gonna use that helping hand / One for All combo in another scene probably, so thanks for the splendid idea!

 **W33hong:** Yeah. But like I said, the explaining stuff's pretty much all done, and we'll get right into the good stuff for the next chapters. I hope you stick around regardless, thanks for the review!

 **Briangela01:** Thanks! Hope you're enjoying the ride and come back for more!

 **Sword Kid:** Some very good insight, and I appreciate it. Yeah, using famous quirks will definitely catch some eyes, (Oh boy the Tournament Arc's gonna be a doozy) but I'll just leave it to Izuku to decide on whether or not to stop using those quirks. He'll be the judge of that when the time comes around.

Now I _**did**_ have Izuku not use his powers for one of the tests, but in the future Izuku will want to use his toys. A lot. And if Bakugo's gonna be a salty baby so be it. Just be forewarned lol.

Thanks for the review!

 **SonictheUltimate:** Oh the possibilities, indeed! It's the big reason why I'm making this story in the first place! I wanna see Izuku use other powers too, darn it! Thanks for the review!

 **StolenPotato:** Hehe! I'm glad you are hooked! Frankly, I did my very best with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Definitely look forward for the newer chapters, when things get _saucy_!

 **Robin the Ylissian Grandmaster:** Hey, thanks pal, hope you stick along for the ride! I'll definitely appreciate more reviews from you!

 **Zorro99:** Appreciate your input bud! Trust me when I say your feedback is much appreciated. I'll even keep a tab on this for ideas in later scenes! A few of your ideas were demonstrated in this chapter, so thanks!

 **Rickyp01:** I laughed hard at this. I guess all I can say is, quoting our favorite Bird-Headed hero Tokoyami, "Those are not the actions of a Hero."

 **Frikshunless:** Thanks for the feedback! Kacchan's scene really only showed the 'end' of his video. I figured everything else would've been drawn out and uninteresting, so I went right for the key point of All Might's presentation.

All Might wanted to inform Kacchan at the very end, **after** explaining that he got in to U.A and how well of a performance he made. He described his shortcoming and who beat him, then finally explained what Kacchan could do to resolve the problem.

It's _supposed_ to be a compliment sandwich, instead it was tossed to the dirt by Kacchan after realizing Deku beat him. At least, that's what I made it out to be.

Sorry if it was out-of-place. Even now I'm trying to find a balance between explaining scenes, and cutting the filler off the chapter.

 **ReverendRevenant:** Yeah, nailing that down's going to be tough though, not gonna lie. I'm going to work up from here on Izuku's interactions with the cast, but I hopefully made a good start from here. I'll do my best! Thanks for your review!

 **Doubledamn:** Ho boy, you really are thinking into this thing aren't you! I made a comic in an attempt to explain the source of how Izuku's capable of doing all these feats. Won't say it on here, though, so you'll just have to check it out in the meantime, okay? I believe the link's on Chapter 4.

Thanks for your review!

 **Addles28, Alpha Uchiha01, Domoko, Guest, Bleach: Aaaaagh, I updated! Don't rip me into a bunch of little pieces please! Thanks for your reviews!**

 **Nobody:** Sorry for the wait. Just have college among many things. Hope you can forgive me and make a return very soon! Thanks for your review!

 **Thanks again everyone! I promise to update as soon as I can! For now, good night! !**


	7. Chapter 7 - Appreciation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **Don't you just hate getting into a story and getting hooked on it, getting** _ **really**_ **involved with the premise, only to find out it ends on a low note because the author just stops updating it?**

 **Wait a second.**

 **All jokes aside, I wrote more about this at the end of the chapter. To newcomers and returning readers alike, I hope you enjoy this new chapter of "My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!"**

* * *

Humming a nameless tune to herself, Inko Midoriya spent her morning preparing breakfast for herself and her son.

Preparing eggs and ham over the oven, A gentle smile stuck on her face, remembering how excited her son was over the past couple of weeks.

Sure, there were a couple of hiccups here 'n there. But overall, her son had probably been the happiest she's ever seen him.

He got into U.A, the school of his dreams! Not only that, but she heard the news: his idol, All Might, would also be teaching there! Really, his luck couldn't be any better.

But most of all… The one thing her ball of sunshine had, that made her so very proud, was—

"Morning, Mom!" Izuku exclaimed, appearing into the kitchen with a notebook. Poor Inko was caught off guard.

"Ah—Izuku! Good morning, honey!" Jumping a little, Inko hit the knob on the side of the oven, cutting off the small flame that was cooking the breakfast,

Inko let out a small giggle, "Oh dear, I did it again." She bent down a little to focus on starting the oven again, "This'll be a bit, honey. This hunk 'a junk can't start a fire like it used to."

Izuku perked up. Putting down his notebook on the dining table, he walked over to his mom, "Ah, let me help, Mom!"

Bending over too, Izuku looked at the oven—the oven itself wasn't like any of the newer models with hotspots on top, rather it was an older model that stroked a flame to cook its contents.

Inko watched her son hold his breath, then flick the oven knob to turn on the gas. In a quick, short burst, he blew out some flame, and started up the oventop once more.

Standing up straight, Izuku gave a cheeky smile, "Breakfast is saved!"

Inko giggled, "Of course you would use your father's quirk!"

That's right… Izuku Midoriya, her baby boy, finally had a quirk too.

It was her quirk, **Attraction of Small Objects—** Which her son had re-named **Helping Hand**.

It was also his father's quirk, **Fire Breath.**

It was even his best friend Katsuki's quirk, **Explosion**!

Izuku Midoriya had a quirk that let him use all these quirks—and more! All by simply learning and figuring out how they work!

Inko wouldn't ask any questions about how he got this power—for all she cared, this was a blessing for her baby boy!

And as a mother, she couldn't feel any happier for her son!

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Appreciation**

* * *

"Attention all passengers," The intercom of the train Izuku Midoriya was in suddenly rang, "We will now be departing to [Musutafu, Japan.] Please keep all hands and limbs inside the train at all times."

Nodding to himself, Izuku had a small smile as he continued working on his notebook, 'Still got a bit more time before I reach U.A.' he thought.

With the book opened up, a page showing Space Hero Thirteen could be seen, as well as all kinds of scribbles and notes regarding them and their quirk, 'I think I can pull off Thirteen's quirk! I just hope I don't end up sucking everything in sight—'

"Dekuuu~!" Izuku stiffened hearing his nickname being called, then blinked and realized who was calling his name.

"Oh, Uraraka-san! M-Morning!" Deku waved with a slight blush, as Ochako ran up to him and gleamed.

"Back at ya!" she then glanced at the empty seat next to him, "Is this spot taken?"

"Oh-Uh-Nope! Go right ahead!" Deku stuttered, and Ochako simple smiled before properly sitting down next to the Hero-in-Training, 'She's super-close! Don't freak out now, Deku! Don't—'

"Woah, isn't that Space Hero Thirteen!?" Ochako exclaimed, looking at his notebook with stars in her eyes, before turning to Deku with a smile, "Are you writing notes about Thirteen's quirk?"

Deku, shaken out of his embarrassment, noticed Ochako's interest before nodding, "Yeah. I've been working on figuring out how his quirk works, and how to control it."

Deku flexed his hand a little, "I haven't actually used it yet, but I figured out how **Black Hole** is summoned, and hopefully how to manage it in safe levels."

Deku felt the mumbling-trance he was all too familiar with coming close and stopped himself short, before he could embarrass himself in front of Ochako. Ochako brightened up even more and leaned to him, earning a blush from the green-haired boy.

"So you can do it, then? Thirteen's quirk?" excitement laced Ochako's voice, and Izuku felt butterflies.

"Well, um… yeah. I think I can do it…!" Ochako nodded twice.

"Can you show me?" she simply asked, stars practically twinkling in her eyes, and Izuku looked at her like she was crazy.

"Here!? We're on a train!" Izuku almost exclaimed, knowing full well how dangerous Thirteen's quirk was—it was a freakin' _black hole_ for crying out loud!

He shook his head, "I can't, Uraraka-san, it's too dangerous. Let's wait until we get to U.A."

Ochako blinked, before looking away with an embarrassed face, "Ah, aha, my bad Deku. I guess I got a little too excited there. Sorry…" she meekly replied, and Deku felt a pang of guilt at her response.

At first Izuku nodded and took the answer at face value, feeling the need of being a good citizen and not using quirks so freely.

But…

The guilt he felt before egged him, and he passed a glance towards Ochako who was quietly watching the window outside, as the train passed through various neighborhoods.

Izuku bit his lip, as Little-Angel Deku and Little-Devil Deku fight each other on his shoulders fighting for the right decision.

It was until Deku remembered how freely Kacchan used his explosion quirk, many times against Deku himself in a fit of rage. A pang of jealousy came up, and Izuku made his decision:

If Kacchan can do it without getting in trouble, why can't I!?

"Uraraka-san," Izuku spoke up, breaking the silence between the two, "Whatever you do, please don't get too close to my left hand."

"O-okay?..." Ochako, at first, was confused, until she remembered their earlier conversation, "Wait! Are you going to-!"

"Not so loud, please!" Deku chastised the girl, and she cut herself short, "I kinda don't want to get in trouble for this, but…"

Deku's ears burnt a little red, "I… didn't want to disappoint you, either…!"

Ochako beamed once again, "Deku… you don't have to…!" she tried being humble, but truthfully, she _really_ wanted to see her idol Hero's quirk up close!

"No—just a quick demonstration shouldn't be too hard. Please don't miss it, okay?" Izuku held forward his left hand, tucking away any small items close by,

"I'm going to try to make is as small as possible. It shouldn't do much besides a small draft of wind, and a bit of visual distortion, but…" Izuku grinned, as he pointed his left hand's index finger up, as the rest of his fingers bent inward to his palm,

"It should be enough… to make a **Black Hole**!" Izuku smiled, preparing for action.

Ochako looked at the boy, his confidence almost overwhelming her, before she nodded and smiled, "Okay!"

Deku closed his eyes, and played the familiar scene of opening the notebook in his head, pages fluttering forward until it landed on Thirteen's hero page.

'A black hole works on the microscopic level, it absolutely sucks up and destroys anything it takes, even light.' Izuku began his mantra as his focus sharpened towards the Hero's quirk. A familiar buzz grew in his head,

'Thirteen could've easily became a villain with this power. It's strength to destroy everything is terrifying. And yet…' He felt his 'hand' grab Thirteen's page in his head, as the buzz grew stronger.

'He became a hero even Uraraka-san appreciates! Therefore, this power can be used to help people!'

 ***rrrRip!***

And like that, a familiar click ran in his head, and he opened his eyes to feel a surge of new power coming through. His mouth thinned into a straight line—it's time to keep focus, or else there will be some serious trouble!

Cracks of electricity, small but sharp, started sparking on his hand. An odd feature, but nonetheless nothing too concerning.

They moved up the finger, tracing his nail, before reaching out to the empty space above the top of his finger.

They kept sparking, and sparking, until—

"Ah…!" Ochako felt a small, very small gust of wind, brushing past her and towards the tip of Izuku's finger. Her hair softly danced from the wind as she kept watching.

'Keep it small!' Izuku focused, pushing a little more for the entity to finally be created, 'As small as possible!'

And went for one final push.

 ***Fwoom…!***

After one final surge of electricity, sure enough, light twisted around the area above Izuku's finger, and there stood a dot of dark matter—a very tiny, but unmistakable **Black Hole**!

Wind still brushed past them both, but it wasn't anything crazy-like. Just a gentle breeze running by.

But the sight of the area around the **Black Hole** ¸ twisting and nearly flipping upside down as light itself was sucked into the entity, it was a very odd sight to see.

"Wow, Deku…" Izuku glanced at his friend next to him, who was memorized by the feat he made, "You really… did it…!"

"Ye… yeah." Izuku felt a blush crawl up once more, but also felt a smile grace his lips, "I mean, it isn't anything too crazy—"

"Deku…" Izuku noticed Ochako looking at him instead, the air making her hair dance in an incredibly attracting way—!

"Thank you." A smile graced her lips, and Izuku was stunned at the simple gesture, almost about to—

"Attention Passengers" the intercom clicked on once again, "Just a reminder that _all quirk usage must be restricted_ while you ride with us to our destination."—

Izuku clicked off the quirk he was using and immediately went to proper position, Ochako following his gesture to look like a normal passenger!

"Any excessive quirk-usage will be reported to the authorities. Thank you for following our safety guidelines." Izuku almost thought this announcement was just something regularly announced, until—

"Teens these days—" ***Click*** A brief comment from the PA cut that train of thought, and Izuku felt himself turn beet red at being watched. Glancing at Ochako, he could tell she was red-faced as well.

"Haha… that was embarrassing…" Ochako murmured, trying to strike up the conversation again despite what happened.

"Ye… yeah." Izuku helped nudge the talk a bit further…

"Still though… figuring out Thirteen's quirk in a day…" she gave Izuku a teethy smile, "You must be some sort of quirk _genius_ , huh?"

"Ahaha, I-I wouldn't go that far, but… uh…" Izuku felt himself get even warmer at the praise, before remembering something, "Ah—That's right, I, uh…"

Tired of his voice fumbling around, he cleared his throat.

"I can't copy _every_ quirk, Uraraka-san, so I can't possibly be a quirk genius." Izuku mentioned his current weakness, which caught her attention.

"Wait, really? What do you mean?" She felt her earlier embarrassment turn into curiosity. Izuku looked away and twiddled his fingers.

"So far… I can copy **Emitter Quirks** just fine. Basically, any quirk that releases a blast or uses some sort of energy, like Kacchan's **Explosion** quirk, or—well, Thirteen's **Black Hole** quirk." He gave examples, in which Ochako nodded.

"But then, that leaves out **Mutation Quirks** and **Transformation Quirks** —Like Iida's **Engine** quirk!" Izuku looked over to Ochako who, much to his surprise, was still keeping track of the conversation. He was worried he was mumbling again—

"And like Toru-chan's **Invisibility** quirk, right, Deku-kun?" Izuku was more surprised to hear her response, and he glowed.

"Exactly, Uraraka-san!" Izuku praised, and Ochako gave a cheerful smile, before he turned away,

"No matter what I do, it's those kinds of quirks I can never get a hold of. I feel like I'm missing a key piece of the puzzle, but…"

Izuku shook his head, "Whatever it is, I simply can't use any quirks like Iida's or Toru's, so until I can, I'm just stuck using **Emitter Quirks** for now." Deku gave a small smile, before glancing at Uraraka, "Hope I made things a bit easier to understand, Uraraka-san."

"I think I get it…" Ochako put her hand under her chin in a thoughtful pose… before looking at her own hands, "But still, something's stuck in my mind that I've been bugging to ask." Her tone almost sound annoyed, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh.

"Well… go ahead! Just shoot me the question!" Izuku assured her, and she closed her eyes, before glancing at her hands.

"I've always had these pads on my fingers since I grew up." She began, almost confusing Izuku until she continued, "I believe these were caused by my quirk, **Zero Gravity** , since I have to touch something with at least a hand's worth of fingers."

Izuku absorbed the info, as she continued, "And yet, despite that, my parents told me that this quirk was an **Emitter Quirk** , not a Mutation one or whatever."

"It kinda doesn't make much sense, I'm sure… but now that we've talked about it, I just wanted to ask you— _ **uuUUEHH!?**_ " she reeled back as Izuku was literally _burning_ through a page with his pencil, writing furiously on his notebook.

"So that's how **Zero Gravity** works, huh? Maybe if I cross-refenced Kamui Woods notes about his quirk relating to his skin, and maybe with that other hero—" Izuku was not restraining himself with his mumbling either! Ochako reached out to Izuku.

"Stop—Stopstopstop, please! You're gonna embarrass me if you write so much info about me down!" Ochako pleaded me with a sheepish expression, and Izuku stiffened.

"Ah—This is—I'm sorry, I can't help it! When I learn about a new quirk, my first reaction is to write it down ASAP!" Izuku explained, before closing his quirk and sighing, "Oh man… and I've been trying _not_ to make myself look like an idiot in front of you…" he couldn't help but say out loud.

"It's okay, really! Besides, you didn't let me ask you my question earlier." She giggled, "You owe me at least that much, Deku!"

Izuku, with a sheepish grin, could only laugh back, "Ah, right… well, what is it?" he watch Ochako turn down to her fingers, and then back at him.

"You said you could only copy **Emitter Quirks** , right?" she began, and Deku simply nodded. Ochako pursed her lips.

"Does that mean," Ochako looked at Izuku with curiosity, "You could copy my quirk as well…?" she finally spoke her question.

And Izuku was about to respond immediately with a 'yes'… but then he stopped himself.

Was 'yes' the right answer here?

If Izuku came forward and claimed he could copy her quirk, without hesitation… wouldn't that be somewhat aggressive or rude?

" _Yeah I can take your quirk, Ochako-chan" A delinquent-Izuku crossed one leg over the other, and shrugged nonchalant, "I've done it plenty of times before, yours…" he leered at her, "Shouldn't be any different."_

" _Disgusting." Ochako simply spoke with a shaded look on her face._

Izuku shook his head, to rid himself of the thought—

"Is that a no?" Uraraka spoke, taking his movement as a response, and Izuku stiffened once more.

"Ah—No—I mean!" Izuku caught himself once more! God, why was this so _hard_!? He should just say yes and get it over with!

But… He didn't want to make Ochako's quirk _just another quirk to copy_. She was much more important than that. He wanted to make her quirk _important_! Unlike anyone else—

" _Deku! Get back here, you goddamn_ _ **copycat!"**_ Kacchan rang in his head

He wanted her… to _**appreciate**_ him using her quirk!

"Gosh, Deku, I didn't think I made the question so hard now, did I? It's just a yes-or-no question!" Uraraka started kicking her legs, looking away from the boy.

Realizing he had to give her some sort of answer, Izuku began speaking, "Uraraka-san, I—"

"Attention all passengers: we are now arriving at [Musutafu, Japan.]" The intercom rang in again, and Izuku's voice felt short at the sudden interjection. Ochako perked up and gave him a smile,

"Looks like this is our stop!" she chimed in. Izuku nodded, his eyes resting on his Hero Notebook.

"Yeah." He simply spoke… feeling like he missed out on a key moment.

* * *

Katsuki Bakugo walked with hands in his pockets, and a rather aggressive look on his face—he was not a happy camper today.

Between his childhood 'friend' getting in his school, (using _his_ quirk no-less!) and him stealing the show yesterday with his newfound powers, Katsuki didn't know what kind of devil did Deku sign a contract for to make Bakugo's life _miserable_!

But above all else, something kept egging at him. More so than all the other tricks Deku pulled out of his _stupid_ sleeve!

Deku had beaten Katsuki's score in the **Softball Toss** by a single digit. If that wasn't aggravating enough, Deku had done it… by using some sort of Strength Quirk.

Katsuki wasn't an idiot. He didn't have to do any digging to figure out all the other quirks Deku copied for the other tests—Endeavor, Kamui Wood, Backdraft, all fairly recognizable Pro Heroes that have been showing up in the news lately. Their quirks were simply stolen by the green-haired nerd.

But the quirk used in the softball test? Deku used raw power. And it _**beat**_ Katsuki's score.

Katsuki was dumbfounded. There was no clue as to what or who's quirk it was, and yet it was… familiar.

It was on the tip of his tongue—

"C'mon, Deku!" Katsuki's ears perked at the sound of that nerd's nickname being used by someone else, as Ochako ran past Katsuki on his right, "Iida's waiting for us! We gotta show him _that_ too!" she called.

And on cue, a familiar boy ran past the blond brute—Deku blazed past Katsuki, with a huge smile on his face.

"Right!" he simply called, failing to recognize Katsuki next to him, as he ran to catch up to Ochako.

Katsuki felt his tighten, and his teeth started to grind at each other. For some reason, Deku enjoying himself in front of Katsuki bugged the _crap_ outta him!

'Deku… how long are you gonna play this damn game, huh?' he started thinking, pulling out his hands from his pockets as he heard them starting to crack with fire.

'You're no Hero. Just some useless bug!' his yes grew more intense with each thought, his hands growing more firepower by the second, 'When are you gonna take the hint, and stop playing pretend like some wannabe All Might—!'

 ***Crack—Tssss…*** Kacchan's quirk stopped.

Something, somewhere deep in Katsuki Bakugo's mind, came to a crashing halt.

Katsuki stopped walking to school. If anyone was close by, they could've probably noticed Katsuki almost stopped _breathing_ as well.

'A wannabe All Might…' he began thinking, 'Who suddenly has the ability to steal quirks…!'

" _All Might's the greatest!" Little Katsuki huffed when Little Deku suddenly started jumping, at the mention of his idol, "When I grow up, I hope to be a hero just like him someday!"_

" _Wow! You're quirk is so cool Kacchan!" Deku followed his friend, praising him with every step, "When I get my quirk, I hope mine is just as cool as yours!"_

" _I have a quirk… that lets me use others' quirks, so long as I know about them well enough, Kacchan!"—_

Katsuki's head started swirling. No way. There was just no, _**fucking**_ , way!

He couldn't! Not somebody like All Might!

But…!

" _I'm not as hopeless as you think I am! Am I worthy enough for you, Aizawa-sensei!?"_ Deku had fire in his voice as he shouted at his teacher. Something old Deku wouldn't have the _guts_ to do!

But if he had _that_ power… then really, not even Katsuki would be able to scare him so easily anymore…!

There was no doubt about it. That power he used, during the softball test, was none other than—

'That bastard…' Katsuki's hands tightened into fists, as his eyes grew dangerous, 'I never would think a shitty nerd like you would stoop so low…!'

Katsuki Bakugo finally felt his world turn upside down.

'You actually… _stole **All Might's quirk…**!' _

* * *

"I gotta say, I'm impressed Midoriya!" Iida watched the spectacle with calculated eyes, but even for someone like him, he was astounded.

"Right!" Ochako chimed in, smiling, "And in just a day, no less!"

"Ah—I-It's nothing, really!" Izuku blushed at the praise, making sure he kept his focus—and his finger, for the matter, still.

 ***Voom…***

The black hole shook a little as Izuku moved his other hand, the one not currently controlling said black hole, to scratch the back of his head.

Currently, the three came to class super-early, following Iida's example to always come early rather than late. Sure enough, they were the only ones present in said classroom.

"As far as I'm concerned, this only solidifies what you said yesterday. Midoriya, you truly are one force of nature." Iida nodded, and Izuku stopped the **Black Hole** after what Iida said, much to Ochako's dismay.

"Ahaha… I still got a long way to go, Iida, so don't put me on some pedestal or something." Izuku felt sheepish at all the praise, before smiling sadly, "Like I told Uraraka-san, I'm still not able to do quirks like your **Engine** quirk yet... I have this issue with **Mutation Quirks—** "

"Oh, you don't need to give me the details!" Iida spoke firmly, before holding out his phone, "Ochako already shot me a message about that while you guys were away."

" _Huh!?"_ Izuku blinked, coming short of any smarter responses for Iida's answer. Ochako giggled.

"Remember how I told you Iida was waiting for us, when we were running to school?" Ochako brought up a small, basic phone with a pink keychain on it, "We traded phone numbers yesterday!"

"Wait—Numbers!? When!?" Izuku was baffled. When did this happen?

"After the Quirk Assessment Test," Iida explained with some hand-motion involved, "I figured if we were to be classmates, it would only be smart to keep in touch at all times!—"

Ochako made a little hop, "Also because… we're friends now!" she made it as plain as day, and Izuku had a little blush… before his eyes got watery.

"Friends, huh…?" Izuku could barely hold back a smile, before he fished in his backpack and pulled out his own phone, "Does… that mean—?"

"Of course, silly! Here!" Clicking a few buttons, she pulled out her contact list.

After trading numbers, while Ochako and Iida talked about odd-and-end topics, Izuku couldn't help but stare at his screen for a while, a gentle smile on his face.

"Oh!" A new voice came through, and Izuku and his friends turned to see Momo Yaoyarozu standing in the entrance, "I was certain I'd be one of the first in class, but I guess… color me surprised."

"Good morning, Momo Yaoyarozu!" Iida spoke in a brash tone, nailing her name on the dot. Izuku simply waved, and Ochako smiled.

"Morning… Iida, right?" Momo walked closer to the group, before looking at all three briefly, "What are the three of you doing here so early?"

Before Izuku or Iida could speak, Ochako jumped while pumping a fist, "Making Black Holes!"

Izuku stiffened, while Momo blinked, "…huh?"

"Midoriya was showing us the extent of his quirk a little while earlier," Iida continued to speak, and Izuku felt himself grow a little paler, "And to a certain extent, he can create a **Black Hole** similar to the Pro Hero Thirteen."

"That's… impressive!" Momo responded with actual surprise, and Deku, despite the praise, felt himself recline on the chair.

Izuku never did say to Iida or Ochako _not_ to tell the others about what his quirk could do… but at this rate it wasn't going to be a secret any longer…

"Wait, did Izuku actually tell you guys what his quirk does?" Momo crossed her arms, "Because pairing this with the fire, the wood, the water and… whatever _that_ power was back in the softball test, he's—"

Momo actually stopped and held a hand to her mouth, "Sorry, where are my manners. I shouldn't talk like Izuku isn't in the room with us." Izuku blinked, as Momo redirected her attention to him.

"Izuku, your quirk must be incredible to pull all this off. Would you honor me and explain how all this is possible with you?" Momo kindly asked, and Izuku scratched his cheek.

"It's… not that great, really." Izuku thought about his response, before simply holding out a finger again, and summoned a tiny **Black Hole** on the spot.

Momo blinked, astounded at the actual quirk being shown in front of her, as Izuku continued, "Iida mentioned how this **Black Hole** is _like_ Thirteen's quirk… that's not necessarily true."

With a grimace, Izuku continued, "This _**is**_ Thirteen's quirk. I just… copied it by doing some research and careful thinking."

"Research, huh?" Momo felt her approval for the boy grow a little more, feeling some similarities to her quirk and how hers works, "But something like that… doesn't seem possible without good reason. Learning a quirk to use it… It sounds like some RPG-trope, more than anything."

"You sound just like All Mmm…" Izuku cut himself short, to avoid mentioning his trainer so casually, "My trainer… he said pretty much the same thing… but really, that's all it takes for me, minus a few complications."

"Well if you put it like that," Momo walked over to her desk, as Izuku stopped his quirk, no longer needing it for proof.

Momo placed her backpack down on the desk, before smiling to Izuku, "It kinda sounds like my quirk, in a way."

"Your quirk?" Izuku looked at her, puzzled. Momo, nodding, walked up to the group while pulling up her sleeve.

While the sudden showing of skin caught Izuku off guard, he caught the sight of some light coming out of her arm. Slowly, an object started to come out, and when it was fully brought out, it was…

A Doll?

"Oh hey, isn't that one of those Matryoshka Dolls you would see at a souvenir shop?" Ochako couldn't help but recognize the item in question. Momo nodded.

"Could it be… you have a type of storage quirk involving your body?" Iida shot the first question, and this time Momo shook her head.

"Not quite. This doll," She smiled proudly, "is something I created myself!"

"Wait… your quirk can create dolls?" Ochako deadpanned, and Momo blushed in embarrassment, "You're one of the students who got recommended, right?"

"N-Not just dolls!" Momo responded, flustered, before she cleared her throat to calm herself, "My quirk is **Creation**. It allows me to make anything I can think of, so long as I understand the compounds that item has."

As she explained, she broke off the doll into a smaller doll, and that one broke off into an even _smaller_ doll, "I can use my quirk to make anything I can think off. From something as small as this, to something as big as a cannon if I wanted to."

By the time she finished, she held three separate dolls, "It has its own limits, but it's my quirk ever since I was little. Here!"

Momo held out a doll to Izuku, and then to Iida, "Consider it a token of friendship," looking at Ochako, she made a little stinkeye and a pout, "Except you. You sullied my grand reveal with your comment earlier."

"Oh _come on!"_ Ochako cried out in frustration, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh.

"But despite the differences," Momo continued, looking at Izuku, which made him blink, "It really sounds like our quirks are somewhat the same, given how we need to learn to make our quirks work."

"Ah, you're right!" Izuku smiled, before looking at the doll, which oddly enough it has a face and hair like his own, "When you put it like that, it really _does_ sound similar."

"Mm-hmm! That being said," Momo held out a hand, and Izuku blinked, "I wish you luck, in learning everything your quirk can offer." She finished.

Izuku gave a soft smile, before reaching for her hand and shaking it, "I wish you luck with yours as well, Momo-san!"

Reaching a conclusion, Iida nodded with satisfaction at his fellow classmates forging new bonds. Ochako, however, only continued to pout, having no doll of her own to hold.

But, much to her confusion, she watched the two make condolences to one-another.

And even though it was faint, very _very_ faint.

She felt a _tiny_ pang of jealousy for the two. And she simply didn't know _why._

* * *

Soon enough, the room was filled with all the students of Class 1-A.

Sitting on his desk, Izuku was jotting down anything he learned from Momo's quirk, **Creation.** Considering how his own quirk depended on it, Izuku made sure to remember as much as possible.

Taking a moment to recollect his thoughts, his eyes fell upon the small doll Momo made for him. A faint smile graced his lips. He reached out for the doll and held it with his hands.

It was surprising to him, now that he took a moment to look at it, how recognizable the doll was. The green hair was a key feature for the small doll—It was really solid proof that Momo's quirk was, indeed, able to make anything she wanted.

Her quirk also sparked a hint in Izuku's head, a small piece of the puzzle for him regarding his lack of **Mutation Quirks.** For peculiar quirks like Iida's **Engine** ¸ learning **Creation** to create engines in his legs, in theory, _should_ be possible, right?

However, the act of working said engines with his legs, as a feasible muscle, made that puzzle much more complicated to learn.

He will have to solve that puzzle another day.

" **I AM HERE!"** A familiar voice _jolted_ Izuku out of his thoughts, as he jumped in attention at the very familiar person entering the class—which was none other than All Might!

–" **AND I'M ENTERING THE ROOM, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"** He followed suit, diving past the door with almost a majestic movement. Izuku couldn't help but get excited!

"No way! All Might's our teacher today!?" Kirishima exclaimed, the redhead already getting fired up.

"All right! I've been waiting so long to meet him in person!" Kaminari followed suit, almost shaking from excitement, as All Might continued to walk into the classroom with a triumphant stride.

"This is surreal… nothing compared to seeing him on TV…!" Ojiro was more reserved, but even he was getting pumped!

'If All Might's teaching, then it has to be for a good reason!' Deku's smile grew wider, 'I wonder what is he gonna teach us?'

"Alright class, allow me to introduce myself!" All Might's voice roared with confidence, as he firmly planted his hands on his hips, "My name is All Might! Today I will be teaching you **Hero Basic Training!"**

He put a fist to his chest, "This is a subject we here at U.A teach to help you understands the basics of being a Hero! Learn it well and you'll be climbing to Pro-Hero status in no time!"

" **Now!** Without further ado!" Reaching behind his cape, he fetched a small card, and presented it to the class, "Let's get started with today's topic: **Combat Training!** "

And on that particular note, Izuku's eyes grew serious…

And in the desk in front of Deku, Bakugo's eyes… grew _deadly_!

* * *

"It's a perfect fit…" Izuku, nodding to himself, gave his outfit a lookover. Donning a bright green jumpsuit, a mask that doubled as a hood with two _familiar_ 'ears' on the top, he almost looked like a bunny.

But given the circumstances of his mom supporting him with this outfit, Deku couldn't help but appreciate the gesture, 'Thanks, Mom!'

Running out of the changing room, he an effort to reach the **Battle Station** they were told to meet in for the course. As Izuku approached the field, he realized that he _may_ have taken his sweet time—

Considering most, if not _all_ of his classmates were already there!

'I guess, better late than never, huh?' Under his hood Deku felt a little sheepish.

"Oh—Deku!" A familiar voice rang out, and Ochako approached Izuku with a smile under her visor, which seemed to to go well with her Hero Costu— _ **uuuume!?**_

"You costume looks awesome! Rockin' that green, I see?" Ochako praised his outfit, but Izuku couldn't barely appreciate it—

After all, Ochako's outfit was an incredibly _bold_ choice in comparison to his! Izuku didn't know she had it in her to wear a _skin-tight bodysuit!?_

Realizing that Deku was reacting to her outfit, Ochako had a sheepish grin, "Ah—yeah, my hero costume ended up being something completely different that I thought."

She scratched the back of her head, "I was going for something like Thirteen's costume, but instead I got… this, ehehe…" Slowly she felt her cheeks grew hotter as Deku looked at her outfit.

"It—" Deku, shaking his head, pumped up both of his fists to his chest, "It looks great on you, Uraraka-san!" he nodded, and Ochako had a small smile.

"Really? I think it's embarrassing…" shaking her head, she had a greatful smile, "But, thanks, Deku!"

"I think it suits you, too, Uraraka." A new voice came forward, and Izuku and Ochako looked to see—Iida? "After all, it's important to keep a unique appearance when we become Pro Heroes!"

"I-Iida?" Ochako mumbled, almost surprised at the person in front of her, "Is that _you?"_

"Why, of course it's me! What kind of question is that?" the man, donning an outfit of white armor, almost like a _Knight_ , spoke up once again.

Izuku couldn't hold back his shock, "Holy cow, Iida, your outfit's intense!" he spoke aloud, before glancing at the costume up and down, "I'm surprised you can even move in that—it looks _heavy!_ "

"It's much lighter than it looks, I can assure you!" Holding out his hands, Iida was about to go into more detail, until—

"A _- **hem!** "_ All Might cleared his throat with such force that demanded attention, and the rest of the class caught the hint, "Now then, seeing as how everyone's present, we can begin the course! Listen carefully!"

Izuku began concentrating at the task at hand. With his two friends next to him, he couldn't afford to mess this up!

* * *

The instructions were simple, two teams made up of two classmates were to go head-to-head in a simulated battle between 'Hero' and 'Villain'—Heroes had to capture either both Villains, or the 'Bomb' located somewhere inside the building the Villains hid in.

Villains, simply put, had to do whatever they can to prevent that from happening.

Teams were randomly chosen, but due to some stupid-good luck—

"Could you _believe_ it, Deku!?" Ochako cheered, and Deku couldn't help but look in surprise, "We're in a team together! Isn't this great!?"

"Ye… yeah, i-it is!" Deku himself couldn't believe it, but he was smiling regardless, 'I don't know what to say… Now I _really_ can't afford to mess this up…!'

The duo were recognized formerly as **Team A**.

—which said-luck quickly turned _sour_ before Izuku really could appreciate it—

"Let's kick things off with our first match, shall we!?" All Might's voice boomed with courage, as he picked out two teams at random.

" **Team A!"** Izuku and Ochako perked out at their team being called, "…will be our Heroes for this first match! And as for the villains, they will be…!"

" **Team D!"** All Might picked another team, _seemingly_ at random, but after realizing who exactly is Team D in question—

"Perfect." Izuku heard Kacchan speak, as he turned to meet two cold-looking, red eyes focused only at him, "This'll be fun." He said with a grin.

Izuku's skin paled at the reveal— **Team D** was none other than Iida... and _Kacchan_!

"That's the spirit!" All Might, failing to realize the double-meaning in Katsuki's words, simply responded back, "As for the rest of the class, please head to the observation room, back in the entrance of this station. I shall meet with you all there shortly!"

"This is going to rock! The Entrance Exam's Number One against Number Two! I can't wait to see what'll happen next!" Kirishima started talking with his classmates, excited to see this first fight.

"Katsuki Bakugo!" Iida spoke loudly, much to the annoyance of the hothead, "Despite our first meeting with each other, I look forward to working with you—"

"Oh zip it, Tin Can! Just don't hold me back." Katsuki waved off Iida, much to the man's dismay.

Ochako blinked at the engagement, before turning to Deku with a disappointed look, "Please tell me he's not always like this… is he?"

"Ahaha…" Deku could only laugh, unable to answer the question himself.

* * *

Katsuki and Iida, being told they have some time to set up their plan and placement of the bomb, were allowed to enter a building of All Might's choosing. Meanwhile, Izuku and Ochako were told to wait outside until the test started.

"All Might didn't give us much to work with. Only this floor plan, and a headset for us to communicate with." Ochako began the conversation, holding the small piece of paper that may be their only key to victory, "We're really at a disadvantage here, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that just yet…" Izuku, his voice reserved, studied the paper, before holding it out to her and point a finger at the top floor, "It's just a hunch, but I think Iida and Kacchan would both agree to place the bomb in the highest floor, given that we start all the way down to the first one."

"So it would be a race to the top, huh?" Ochako smiled… before noticing the odd shiver and shake from Deku as he held out the paper.

Her lips formed a frown, "Deku… you're shaking."

"Ah—!" A quick gasp came out of his mouth, before he calmed down and held a sad smile, "It's that obvious, huh…?"

"Is it about Bakugo?" Ochako noticed him turn stiff, and she gave a small huff, "He's been nothing but a jerk since the class started, but he's more of a jerk to you than anyone else! What's his problem!?"

"…" Deku remained silent, before a small smile appeared on his lips, "Me and Kacchan… we go way back. We used to be friends at one point, too…

"But," Izuku felt his hands fall back to his sides, as he remembered how brash he was in their childhood, "That changed when he got his quirk **.** After that, he became something like a bully to me, with nothing on his mind except winning, and being the Number One Hero."

Izuku couldn't help but laugh a little, "Kacchan's amazing… He's got amazing talent as a hero, and his academics are spot on. Not to mention his quirk is just as amazing…"

Izuku's eyes lidded, and Uraraka was almost tempted to say something—

"But…" Izuku suddenly gained a fierce look, and turned to Ochako, "That's exactly why I need to beat him! I want to see if I can be better than him! To prove that I can be a hero, just as great as him!"

Ochako looked at Izuku, before smiling bright, "That's the spirit!" she responded, and Izuku's response was just to meekly smile back, "But in order to beat Bakugo, we need a plan, right?"

"Oh—I already have a plan figured out!" Izuku simply replied, and Ochako jumped a little.

" _You do!?"_ she was flabbergasted if Izuku was saying the truth. Wasn't he focused on talking about Bakugo earlier!?

"Uh, yeah! I really doubt Kacchan will work with Iida for something like this, so I made a plan if that happened." Holding out the paper, he pointed to the bottom floor, "Kacchan will probably try to seek me out and fight me right away. If that happens…"

Izuku traced his finger to each floor, "I want you to investigate each floor for the bomb. When you find it, let me know through the headset," Pointing to the little headset on his earlobe, "And I'll come right away... to help you secure the bomb!"

"That's great… but," Ochako had an awkward smile, as she scratched her cheek, "Wouldn't Bakugo just chase you down when that happens? How would we have the upper hand?"

Izuku looked back at the floor plan, "Each floor has an open window. None of these rooms are closed out," Izuku noted, and Ochako looked back to see that, indeed, each floor had a window present.

"Instead of taking the stairs up, I will use these windows to climb up the building and regroup with you quickly." Deku concluded, "Hopefully then we'll have what it takes to secure the bomb."

"That's… a bold move, Deku, but…" Ochako was still confused, as to how he was going to pull all this off, "That's quite a big jump from window to window, even with a quirk…"

'Now or never' Izuku thought with a gulp. He looked towards Ochako.

"You're right… Even with all the quirks I have, it'd be a risky move to jump out the window to reach the top floor. At any floor, if I messed up, I could easily hurt myself and ruin the plan entirely… but…"

Izuku then turned to face Ochako properly, his eyes holding a serious look in them, "If I had your quirk, **Zero Gravity** , then even climbing the windows… _should be no problem_!"

Ochako's eyes widened, as she felt her face heat up a little, 'Wait… does this mean he's about to…?'

"It doesn't have to be the best explanation, but I need your help to make this plan happen!" Izuku looked at Ochako with dire eyes, making her nervous—

Until he bowed, in front of her, his head held low.

"Uraraka-san, please! _Teach me how your quirk works!"_

* * *

 **And scene.**

 **If this story is new to you, thank you for reading!**

I hope you come to read the next chapter when it comes—I plan to keep a relatively strong update schedule going so Fav'ing and Following the story would mean a lot to me!

I will also reply to reviews in the next chapter onward, like I have before in previous chapters, so if you're up to sending me ideas or opinions about this chapter, go nuts!

Now then…

 **For those of you that have returned to this story, after waiting so long... Thank you!**

Seriously, thank you for coming back after all this time. You have no idea what it means to me for you to give this story another chance—one that I won't waste, I assure you.

I promise, I _will_ be better.

I did the hard part—setting up a world to hopefully grab your interest and investment, while giving a good idea how this story should break away from the original one we all know and love.

My goal for this story hasn't changed. Deku will still be at a reasonable strength. I'd say after having this much time to think the story through I have a crystal-clear idea on how progress will be made.

But I still have some issues I need to iron out. Namely the long chapters and pace I've been taking since Chapter 2. I've taken notes and hope to improve future chapters with them!

That's all I can say for now. Thank you again for reading this story! You have my word the next chapter is in the works!

 **See you soon!**


	8. Chapter 8 - He's No Hero

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hero-Aca.**

 **Alright, get comfy. Pull this up on your phone and read it in the tub. Grab some water or put on some music. This'll be a bit… long.**

 **I ran through this chapter multiple times, making sure it's the same quality as my other works. I'm confident you'll enjoy reading this.**

 **As always, Fav's and Follows are** ** _greatly_** **appreciated! Leave a review if you'd like me to answer it in the next chapter.**

 **Without further ado, here's the next chapter of** ** _My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!_**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: He's No Hero…**

* * *

"Uraraka-san, please! _Teach me how your quirk works!"_ Izuku spoke, with a small tremor in his voice, while bowing to Uraraka as a sign of utmost respect.

There. He finally said it. He asked the question.

It was a weight on his shoulders ever since riding on the train with her, and she ended up popping the question:

 _"Does that mean," Ochako looked at Izuku with curiosity, "You could copy my quirk as well…?"_

He wanted her to appreciate the idea of him copying her quirk. He didn't want to give off the impression of stealing her quirk just to simply take it…

He didn't want to lose her as a friend…

"Deku," Ochako began, and his breath hitched, until—

"What's with the bow? Seriously, you look ridiculous!" Ochako laughed, and Deku looked back up with a tinge of red on his cheeks.

"Um—Well—I just—" Shaking his head, he focused on his answer, "I didn't want you to think I was stealing your quirk! I absolutely don't want you to get the wrong idea about this!"

Ochako took a moment to process his answer, before her eyes lit up, as if she remembered something, "Ooooh~! So that's why you never gave me an answer properly, back on the train~!"

Izuku, only feeling more embarrassed at how frank Ochako was being, simply looked away and nodded, "Ye-Yeah… That's right."

"You know, Deku," Ochako removed her helmet, visor and all, as her hair swayed with the motion, "You worry too much! It's not like I'm that bully Bakugo or anything!"

She gave a teethy smile to the boy, "I would be happy to give you my quirk! Especially if it meant winning and beating Bakugo's stupid butt!"

Ahh, could a lady say any sweeter words to a man in his time of need?

Izuku felt the waterworks come up in his eyes, as his hands shook together in a thankful motion, " _I don't deserve youuuuuuu~!_ " Izuku's voice cracked, and Ochako started laughing.

"It's fine! Totally fine, I promise!" Ochako's face grew serious, but a smile still stood there, "Anyways, pay attention, because I don't think we have a lot of time until the test starts!"

"R-Right!" Izuku, snapping back into attention, watched Ochako with baited breath.

"Okay, so, **Zero Gravity!** " Ochako placed a hands-worth of fingers on the helmet, and her quirk activated. The helmet started drifting as soon as Ochako released her hold on the device, "My quirk activates as soon as I press my fingers on an object!"

With a light push of one finger, Ochako watched her helmet slowly drift into the sky aimlessly, without resistance, "That object becomes completely weightless! If I don't do anything, my helmet will eventually reach space!"

"Has it happened before?" Izuku suddenly interjected, with a thoughtful pose.

Ochako's face sulked, "Maybe once or twice… I ended up losing my favorite toy as a kid because of this, ehehe…"

Izuku looked devastated at Ochako's response, "Ah! Sorry for bringing bad memories!" he apologized, and Ochako smiled.

"Don't worry bout it!" She replied, before glancing up, "I think my helmet drifted up a little too high. Gotta wrap this up quick!"

"When I want to end my quirk, I end up pressing both of my hands together, so the pads on my hands connect!" Ochako went through the motion of connecting her fingers together, and a small pink glow came out of her hands as a response.

A few moments later, Ochako held out her hands, and caught her helmet that was falling from the sky, "And like that, everything is back to normal!" She rose a free hand and made a 'Peace!' sign.

"Are there any weaknesses?" Izuku asked immediately afterwards, and Ochako's face turned slightly pink.

"D-Do I _have_ to explain those, too?" Ochako pleaded. Izuku felt a little worried for her response.

"I _need_ to know, or else I might not be able to learn the quirk in time for the test." Izuku replied, and she sighed.

Ochako steeled herself as she put the helmet back on her head, "I can only use my quirk on so many objects. If it's heavy, even one object can be enough for me to vom… er, for my _weakness_ to appear."

"And what would the weakness be?" Izuku cut short the chatter, and Ochako became flustered. When it came to quirks, Deku was _ruthless!_

"A-After I… release my quirk, sometimes… I kinda…" She held her hands to her face, "Sorta… Maybe… Throw up?"

"Throw up?" Izuku repeated, and Ochako's flustered feelings became _frustration!_

"Puke! Gag! Hurl! Whatever you name it!" She glared at Deku, and he reeled back, "Geez, Deku, get the idea! _You have any idea how embarrassing this is!?"_

"I-I'm sorry, Uraraka-san…!" Izuku whispered hoarsely, and Uraraka gave a pout.

"I forgive you!" Ochako responded, although her tone didn't sound like she did. Soon enough, Ochako returned to her normal, happy self, "Think that's enough for you to work with?"

"Maybe…" Izuku felt a bit nervous, himself. Usually he had all the free time in the world to figure quirks out, but right now they were on the clock!

His fastest quirk learned was Thirteen's **Black Hole** , and that was a whole day! Maybe… maybe he should have a back-up plan!

"Uraraka-san, if things don't work out, then I suggest we—"

" **It's Showtime!"** All Might's voice suddenly rang out loud, catching the Heroes off guard, "Hero Team, you have 15 Minutes to capture the Villains, or secure the bomb! **Begin!"**

Whatever alternative Deku had in mind was tossed aside. The test had begun.

"Well, Deku," Ochako turned to the boy with a shaky look, "It's now or never!"

"R-Right!" Deku nodded, his own face matching her uneasiness.

* * *

 _In the Spectator Room…_

* * *

The room has a screen filled with displays showing different angles of the test. **_All of them were mute_** , however, as sound quirks (think of Present Mic) resulted in poor experience for the spectators.

Audio, however, could be heard through All Might's headset, as he can choose to opt-in between Hero and Villain channels with ease.

"Now, pay attention, class," All Might began speaking to the rest of the class waiting in the Spectator Room, looking up to the many screens showing both teams in the test.

"This test will prepare you for the real deal, when you become Pro Heroes some day. Take what you learn from each other and use the knowledge when it's _your_ turn to battle! **Understood!?** " All Might concluded, and a few of the students got excited.

" ** _Right_**!" The class responded in kind.

"But man, what are the _chances!?_ " Kirishima began chatting with his class, "Bakugo versus Midoriya… those guys were in the top of the leaderboards for the Entrance Exam! Them duking it out against each other is going to be _intense!"_

"I know!" Mina cheered next to the redhead, her hands kept jumping up and down, "But more than anything, I just want to see more of Midoriya's _crazy_ quirk!"

Momo, not wanting the spotlight on her, kept the truth about Izuku's quirk to herself, as she continued to watch the screen.

All Might kept a steady eye as he watched Midoriya and Uraraka step inside the building, while Bakugo already made haste to the bottom floor.

'Midoriya, I remember how frustrated you were about Bakugo knowing your quirk…' he kept his cool as he began thinking, 'It's not a surprise that Bakugo thinks ill of you because of it. That's _exactly_ why I've set this test up to start with you two.'

'Prove to him you're more than just some copycat!' If it was possible, All Might's grin got wider, 'Show him that you've got _more_ than what it takes to be a Hero, too!'

'I'm rooting for you, Izuku.' With a small smile, Momo also cheered for the boy.

* * *

 _With Deku and Ochako…_

* * *

Navigating through the hallways were simple enough, but _man_ , the inside of the building looks _much_ different than the outside. If Deku didn't know better, he'd think he would be trespassing some villain's evil _maze,_ rather than a city building.

'This place will make any encounter with Kacchan and Iida close and personal…' Looking at his hand, Deku picked off fingers as he counted his usable quirks,

'I haven't tried using all the quirks I've copied in battle yet, so this'll be a learning experience for me, too.' A bead of sweat rolled down Izuku's head, 'I just hope I don't screw something up…!'

As unnerving as it was, Deku and Ochako never ran into the villains, Bakugo and Iida yet. The two of them snuck around the building, weary of some trap or ambush to catch them off—

Almost on cue, Bakugo suddenly jumped around the corner, prepping an Explosion! Deku, quick to notice this, ran for Ochako.

 _"Get down!"_ Deku yelled, pushing the girl and himself onto the ground as Kacchan released his blast with a yell!

 ***Fwa—Pooom! !***

And from the sound of the blast, Bakugo wasn't playing any games, either.

"Bastard…" Kacchan cursed, as he approached the two.

"I knew… you'd be coming after us." Deku, with a grunt, got off Ochako and faced his childhood 'friend'. Katsuki sneered at the boy.

"You knew? Don't make me laugh." He spat out, before crouching in an evil-like demeanor, "You just ran away on instinct, knowing I'd crush you anyway!"

Katsuki's glare grew intense, "You're still the same, useless Deku from back then. No matter how many quirks you end up taking, _nothing will change that!"_

Deku rose to his two feet and, with a slight jitter in his legs, he rolled back into a comfortable fighting stance…

Until a smirk rose on Izuku's face,

"Wanna _bet!?"_

Something **_snapped_** inside Bakugo, when Izuku called him out like that. Roaring, he lunged for the boy, **_"I'll make you eat those words, Dekuuu! ! !"_**

Unfortunately for the hothead, Deku had already prepared for him to make the first move—and even knew how he would attack: A big right hook!

If he was still quirkless, he'd resort to using his physical ability to take him down—

But this time… **_it's different!_**

Once he came close enough, Deku ducked under Bakugo's initial strike, much to his surprise.

'What!? He dodged my attack!? But how—'

Only then did he notice that Deku was still under the boy… _hovering a hand towards Bakugo's chest!_

'A counterattack!?—' Bakugo was unable to recover from his attack!—

" ** _EXPLOSION! ! !"_** Deku _screamed_ , and with a surge of new power, the hand aimed at Bakugo's chest grew bright—

 ***Fwa—Pooooom! ! !***

" ** _Pahhh!?"_** With the blast covering the entirety of Bakugo's Solar Plexus, he shot across the hallway short of breath—the accompanying rolling on the ground doing little to help the boy recover.

Standing back up straight, Izuku held out his right hand away from his body—

 ***Psh—Psh—Pmm*** —as small explosions harmlessly bounced off his hand. His once stainless hero outfit became tattered around the entirety of his hand area.

"Deku…!" Despite still recovering, Bakugo used the little air he recovered to _curse_ his name, "You… damn… copycat…!"

"You're wrong, Kacchan…" Deku began, with a slight tremor in his voice as he looked at his once-best friend, "You're wrong… about everything…!"

"I'm not just some copycat…!" Deku grit his teeth, as he confronted Katsuki… He _needed_ to end this stupid charade, once and for all, "And I'm **_not_** the same, useless 'Deku' you've known for so long!"

Katsuki, tripping a little as he wobbled back up on his feet, watched as the boy he bullied for so long mustered the confidence to talk back to him!

"From now on…!" Izuku's eyes were watery, but filled to the brim with determination, **"The name 'Deku'… is going to be the name of a Hero!"**

Ochako's eyes widened, remembering the conversation the both of them had yesterday!

 _"Kacchan calls me that to… well, insult me. It's not necessarily a 'good' nickname…"_

 _"That sucks! I think it would make an awesome Hero name! And it sounds pretty cute, too!"_

Her face grew a little hotter, but she snapped back into it when Deku looked at her, as his hand kept popping with small explosions.

"We're going with the plan! Get going, Uraraka-san!" He spoke, his voice brimming with emotion, which she couldn't help but comply to.

"R-right!" And like that, Ochako sped off to find the staircase in the building, leaving Deku to Bakugo—

Who finally got back on both his legs.

And he did _not_ look happy at all.

"Attacking me… with my own damn quirk…" his palms started cracking with fire as he spoke, "You got some nerve, _nerd_ …"

"That's right…" Deku nodded, his own hand crackling with the same kind of power, "And I'll keep using it, if it means that me and Uraraka can win this fight!"

Closing his hand, he stopped the quirk from exploding, before returning into a fighting stance.

Bakugo slouched over, his eyes still as intense as ever,

" **Deku…** " he growled out, the palms of his hands started to smoke, "You've got some nerve, thinking you can stand up to **_me_**!"

Deku's eyes started shaking a little, but he tightened his fists and prepared for _anything_!

"I absolutely…!"

 ***Paw—pap!***

"Hate… **_everything…!"_**

 ***PAH—PawwwwwP*** Kachhan's explosions grew _vicious_!

"About you, Deku… Do you **_hear me!"_** Katsuki, with a crouch, lunged at Izuku once more,

" ** _I HATE YOU! ! !"_** Katsuki screamed while soaring at the boy, snapping Deku into attention!

With a burst of flame, Deku's mask burned away on his head, as he pulled back a hand— _which was also lit on fire!_

 ** _"HELLFLAME! ! !"_** Deku screamed back!—

A surge of flame met Katsuki's rush, and the boy had no choice but to guard with his oversized gauntlets!—

"Ghh!" he let out a grunt, being pushed back again as he slid on the floor. After the flame stopped, he brought down his arms—

To see Deku charging for an attack himself _, holding down his voice for what appears to be a surprise attack!_

"Too slow!" Katsuki exclaimed, catching one of Izuku's fists, before grinning—

Only to realize that, for some reason, _Deku was holding his breath?_

' ** _Fire Breath!'_** calling upon his Dad's quirk, Izuku blew on Kacchan's arm—the one that was holding Izuku's fist.

"Aggh! Basta—" Kacchan, forced to release his hold, ended up with Deku _slugging_ his face, sending him straight into the wall.

Approaching close, Deku slammed a fist into Kacchan's ribs, before opening his hand as small lights dazzled around his arm.

 ***Poom!—Pap-pap-pap…!***

A quick explosion, dotted on Kacchan's side, sent him sliding further down the hallway.

A buzz danced in Deku's head, as he switched between the three quirks with ease. It was distracting—but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle!

Deku started grinning, holding out the fist with pride, 'Kacchan's not getting any room to attack! At this right, I might be able to—'

 ** _"Enough! ! !"_** Deku felt chills hearing Kacchan yell out in frustration, as Bakugo kicked off the ground and lunged at Deku once more!

" ** _He-Hellfla—"_** Deku quickly switched quirks, only to be greeted by a heavy, black cloud of smoke caused by Kacchan's quirk!

Aimlessly, Deku launched flames above Kacchan, which the hothead ducked under—

And slammed into Deku with a tackle!

"Pah…!" It was then Deku's turn to be short on breath, only to be slammed into the wall on the other side of the hallway, with Kacchan still on his chest!

 ** _"Know your place!"_** Kacchan then grabbed Deku by the collar, and turned to the open side of the hallway—

Before exploding **_Deku's_** chest with his free hand, **_"You damn bug! ! !"_**

"Gahh…!" Izuku cried out, before slamming onto the ground, cradling his chest as he assessed his damages.

Meanwhile, Katsuki walked closer to the boy, who was on his side shaking from the blast,

"Is that all you got!?—" Katsuki boasted, until—

Deku suddenly turned, and splashed a hard ball of liquid on him!?

' _Water!?'_ he thought, until he turned to see Deku twisting into a crouching position, before holding out a hand!

 ** _"Hydro—"_** Izuku's hand released a _hard_ stream of water, **_"Kinesis! ! !"_**

"Feh!" Katsuki brushed away the blast of liquid as if it was nothing, "You got to do a lot more than _that_ to stop me!" He held out his hand to summon an explosion—

 **"Pah…!*** Only for a pitiful little blast to come out, surprising the hothead!

"What the!?—" Kacchan was cut short as he blocked Deku's kick.

Bouncing back, Deku cursed at his failed attack, before grinning a storm

"It's no use!" Deku called out, "I've got the upper hand now, Kacchan!"

"What the hell're you on about, bastard!? _What did you do to me!?"_ Katsuki screamed, pushing for his quirk to appear more powerful, but coming up short.

With a cheeky grin, Deku approached the boy, "When you get drenched with water, **Explosion** doesn't work as well!" he explained, and Kacchan glared at him, "The sweat powering the explosions gets diluted by the water, rendering your quirk _useless_!"

"So long as I have **Hydrokinesis** on, however… I can keep that water on your body no matter _what_ you do!" Deku kept grinning, much to the ire of the hothead!

"Don't make fun of me!—" Kacchan ran at the boy, only to meet a hand up to his face!

 **"Explosion!"** With a firm voice, Izuku sent out an explosion that pushed back Kacchan!

"Ghh!?" Katsuki grunted, before smiling with frustration, "You idiot! You just dropped your other quirk to push me back!—"

"I didn't!" Deku cut him off, and Katsuki stiffened, as he tried to summon his quirk—but to no avail!

"But how!?" Katsuki screamed, even _more_ frustrated, "You using my _damn quirk_ _ **again**_ _, you bastard!_ _ **How are you using two quirks at once! ? !"**_

"I figured out how yesterday, when we were tested by Aizawa!" Izuku responded, his voice as focused as his eyes, "During one of the tests, I _had_ to use two quirks at once, something I never thought I could do! _"_

"There's no way…" Kacchan's ire for the boy only grew, as he kept thinking at how unfair this quirk Deku had was, "That's… just not _fair_ …!"

Deku's eyes focused on Kacchan, "Not Fair?" he repeated, before approaching the boy.

With Bakugo against the wall, Deku stood right in front of him.

Katsuki's explosions were nearly _silent._

And Deku's explosions were **_roaring with fury_**.

"You're the last person I'd want… ** _"_** Deku's voice was firm, and cold, "…To tell me that this quirk isn't fair."

Katsuki's explosions were nearly _silent._

And Deku's explosions were **_roaring with fury_**.

"I'm the one who was **_Quirkless_** , remember? ** _"_** Deku gritted his teeth, "I figured turning the tables around… would be perfect for someone like **_you,_** who had a quirk since **_we were kids!"_**

Katsuki's blood ran cold at the statement, as he realized what Deku had been gunning for.

A sick smile formed on the hothead's face, "Are you… trying to get revenge…" Katsuki had an intense look as he stared at Deku, "For the times… I _bullied_ you!?..."

"Maybe I am!" Deku exclaimed, shaking the hothead up even more, "But even if it was only for a moment, I hoped something like _this…!"_

Izuku started crying, as he remembered when he was little, how him and Kacchan would always play!—

"… ** _Would bring my best friend Kacchan back! ! !"_**

Somewhere, deep down, Izuku hoped that Kacchan would've taken the hint, that after all these years of them going back and forth, Izuku _still_ thought of Kacchan as a friend, and would want nothing more than to re-spark their friendship once both of their quirks materialized.

For a moment, Izuku thought he had succeeded, as Kacchan raised his arms in what _appeared_ to be a friendly gesture.

Only for that small beacon of hope to wither away, as Kacchan's hands came together…

To hover over the small pin on one of his gauntlets. The pin of a _grenade…!_

 ** _"_** As if _I_ could _ever_ be **_friends_** wi _th_ _ **SOMEONE**_ _like_ _ **YOU! ! !"**_ He screamed… and pulled the pin.

And Deku could see nothing but light.

* * *

 _In the Spectator Room…_

* * *

In the Spectator Room, sharp gasps from the students could be heard.

"What was _that!?"_ Kaminari shouted in surprise, looking at the CCTV footage as smoke and debris filled the screen.

"Was that Bakugo…!?" Sero was also shocked, surprised at what he was seeing.

"Oh _no…_ Izuku…!" Toru couldn't help but feel scared for the green-haired boy, her gloves hugged close to her invisible body.

"What an idiot." Jiro could care less about Izuku, much to the surprise of Toru who was next to her.

"Settle down, students!" All Might, who's voice rang throughout the room, easily catching the class's attention,

"Clearly Midoriya and Bakugo's battle reached a climax none of us would expect…" All Might then pointed to another screen, which had Uraraka running up the stairs, "But none of you should lose sight of the objective!"

Putting his hand down, All Might continued, "Midoriya has entrusted Young Uraraka with securing the location of the bomb, while he holds down Bakugo to the best he can. It's a strategy that requires the trust of both students to succeed."

All Might laughed as Ochako reached the Bomb Room, "…and it seems like it's going to pay off, momentarily!"

The class continued to watch the fight, as Ochako finally faced Tenya Iida.

* * *

 _A few moments earlier, with Ochako…_

* * *

Ochako kept climbing the stairs of the building, looking for the bomb as best she could. Before she knew it, she was on the fifth and final floor at the top of the building.

As she left the stairway, she almost tripped when the floor suddenly started shaking, like an earthquake rocked the area.

"What the…!?" Ochako, regaining her bearings, held onto the wall for support, "What was that!?" she talked to herself.

"Bakugo!" Ochako blinked, hearing the sound of her friend Iida across the hallway, "What happened!? Give me news on the situation!"

Running up the hallway, Ochako stumbled upon a room void of any objects or anything she could make use of with her quirk. Inside the room, Iida stood in front of a large decoy bomb—Her target!

"I should've known making a team with Bakugo would only be disaster! That delinquent doesn't know the _meaning_ of teamwork!" She could hear Iida becoming frustrated, and turned back into the hallway, away from Iida's sight.

"Deku!" She pressed a finger into her earpiece, with a smile on her face, "I've found the bomb! It's on the top floor like you said!"

Initially greeted by silence, Ochako got a little worried, until—

 ***"G-Got it."*** Deku's voice came on the other side, and Ochako beamed, ***"I'll be there as soon as I can. Get ready for my call!"***

"Right!" Ochako nodded, before turning back into the room, stalking Iida.

"—Maybe Bakugo's just filling the part as villain… I suppose villains are too cocky to be working together under normal circumstances." Iida began pondering his thoughts, and Ochako watched with curiosity.

"Maybe it's _me_ who's in the wrong?" Iida looked at his hands, "Maybe, despite me being a villain, my attitude isn't correct? Hmm… Maybe I should act like a villain instead?"

'Where are you going with this, Iida…?' Ochako thought, watching her friend stretch a little.

"Alright, what makes a good villain… Hmm… Maybe like that one show me and my brother watched…?" Iida was whispering this, until he nodded, and slowly started turning—

 ***ゴゴゴゴ Ｍｅｎａｃｉｎｇゴゴゴゴ***

"Oh? Are you approaching me?" Iida began as, for some reason, small little kanji symbols fluttered around his area, "Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"

 ***ゴゴゴゴ Ｍｅｎａｃｉ—**

 _"_ _Pffft! !"_ Ochako, watching the whole scene play out, couldn't help but blow raspberries at how _ridiculous_ Iida looked, 'You're trying _too_ hard, Iida!'

"Ochako!" Iida called her out, and she stiffened,

"Ah crap, I blew my cover!" She exclaimed out loud, but Iida crossed his arms.

"There's no need! I've already known you where there this entire time!" Iida boasted, surprising her.

"Re-really!?" Ochako fumbled, and Iida laughed.

"Yes!" He said, but actually, he was lying, 'Wow, being a villain is much easier than I thought!'

Iida posed with finesse and intimidation, "Now then, allow me to demonstrate just how hopeless you are—!"

Iida broke off his pose once he held his ear in pain, "Ba-Bakugo, could you stop yelling! I'm trying to stop Ochako here!"

Ochako looked towards Iida once more, who was trying to comprehend the words of his partner-

 ***"…You actually had the guts… to copy _his_ quirk, too!"* **Iida's earpiece screamed out, and Iida grew stiff.

Ochako barely heard what the little earpiece said, but Iida could hear everything on the other side. Dropping the fight even for just a moment, Ochako walked up to Iida.

"What's wrong? What's Bakugo saying, Iida?" Ochako pondered, and her friend looked at her with wide eyes.

"Bakugo's claiming that… Midoriya…!" Iida properly faced Ochako, with a firm look on his face, "…has copied All Might's Quirk!"

"…What?" Ochako, hearing the news, couldn't _hardly_ believe it herself…!

* * *

 _A few minutes ago…_

* * *

Deku woke up.

Which is a weird thing to say since he didn't remember _passing out_ in the first place.

His ears were ringing. It hurt.

His right arm seared with pain, and Deku spared a glance to see it was red, and blistered. His costume was, expectingly, torn open from his right shoulder down, too.

And it hurt, as well.

Deku tried getting up. Tried to, at least. His head and legs felt like jello. Eventually, he got into a crouching position.

His ears started ringing less, as he began looking around.

To his right, Kacchan was on the ground. He looked like he was in a fit of coughing. He didn't notice Deku getting up.

To his left—

Deku's back grew chills.

A large hole in the wall. Foundation and drywall lit aflame as dust came rushing out of the open space. No doubt the result of Kacchan's… attack.

That hole… could've easily been _him…!_

Deku's heart started beating. Faster and faster.

 _"Just pray that you get a quirk in the next life, and take a swan dive out of the window!"_

Deku could actually _feel_ himself start to hyperventilate.

" _Deku…"_ _"I'm_ ** _really_** _going to kill you now."_

This wasn't one of Kacchan's nasty _jokes_ anymore! This was serious!

 ** _"_** _As if I could ever be_ _ **friends**_ _with_ _ **SOMEONE**_ _like_ _ **YOU! ! !"**_

Kacchan… **_really wanted him dead! !_ _!_**

'Why…!?' Deku glanced at his once best friend, with tears brimming in his eyes, as he tried racking his smart mind to figure out _ANY_ answer, ' _Why…!?'_

 ***"Deku!"*** Ochako called through the earpiece, and Izuku's heart almost jumped out of his skin.

Before it calmed down... And became regular.

 ***"I've found the bomb! It's on the top floor like you said!"*** Ochako spoke, and to him, it was probably the most relieving thing he could hear.

His lips were tembling, as he hovered over the earpiece. He took a deep breath to calm himself, even if only for a moment.

"G-Got it." Despite the preparation, Deku's voice came as a stutter, before he gained his bearings once again, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Get ready for my call!"

 ***"Right!"*** Ochako spoke with a confident voice, one that made Izuku smile, before he looked back at Kacchan—Who, oddly enough, was still trying to clear out his lungs of all the dust.

 _'I've made up my mind.'_ If Bakugo could look, he would've noticed Deku's eyes were a cold green, something that isn't usually present on the optimistic nerd.

However, he did notice Deku starting to make a break for it.

'After this fight…' Deku thought with conviction, as he ran away from the sight of the hothead, 'After this… then I will—'

"Deku…!" He could hear Kacchan call out while wheezing, "Get back here…! We're not done yet…!"

'It's no good to think about it now. I _have_ to figure out how Uraraka's quirk works!' Deku ignored Kacchan's request, and turned around a corner.

Away from Bakugo's sights, Deku began searching for his objective: An open window!

And as for Bakugo, he finally got back up, his fists tightening into knuckles.

* * *

It only took a moment for Kacchan to be infuriated again, stuck playing a game of _cat and mouse,_ inside a building which was no better than a _maze._

Despite Deku seemingly having the upper hand in their skirmish, Deku still ran like a demon from hell away from him… and it pissed him off.

And when something pisses him off, Bakugo gets _vocal_ about it!

He failed to notice that his earpiece was on, as it was turned on by accident earlier when he slammed his head against the wall earlier.

No doubt because of the large blast he made in such close quarters.

He also ended up receiving the tail end of the smoke the blast released, lingering smog and arson still filled his nostrils.

Everything about this pissed the boy off… but nothing moreso than the fact that _Deku_ _ **still**_ _hasn't used All Might's quirk against him!_

That's it! That is **it! !**

Kacchan's mouth opened to speak.

As Deku ran, he could easily hear the voice of his once-best friend yell at him.

"Aaaa ** _aaAAH_** — **I'm sick of this! !** Come and face me already, you damn coward!" He screamed, and Deku kept focus.

'This window's harder to find than I thought!' Deku cursed his breath, as he hugged the wall in search of just _one_ window—

He ended up tripping and bashing his arm against the wall—the one that was burned by Kacchan earlier.

'Ahh—ha-ha-hahh…' Tears welled up as he cradled his arm, 'It stings…! Kacchan, you _jerk_ …!'

"Have you been hiding this quirk from me this entire time, Deku!? You thought you could've had the drop on me, after so long!?" Kacchan started screaming, as Izuku hid away, holding his arm,

"Whenever you've stuck around me like the flea you are, you were just focused on copying my quirk, huh!? **Is that it!?"** Deku blinked at the conclusion Kacchan made. He stopped running.

'That's…!' Deku bit his lip, unable to speak out against Kacchan's lashing, 'That's not it _at all!'_

Deku was, honest to God, Quirkless since he was born. His quirk only started showing up thanks to All Might!

Deku was _fascinated_ by his best friend's amazing quirk. He wanted to see it—see _everything_ he could do with it!

Even if it meant getting a few bruises every now and then, Deku's love for the boy was genuine! He wanted Kacchan to _succeed!_

…But now? Deku looked at his burnt arm.

 _He couldn't muster the same feelings as he did before today…_

"Before this damn school, I thought you were useless! But I was wrong…!" Katsuki's knuckles were white, and his figure was shaking, " **You are actually the worst person I've ever met, Deku!** **And I don't think I can fucking STAND you, anymore, ya hear me!?"**

'Kacchan…!' Deku's body also trembled, as tears sprouted in his eyes once more, 'You have no idea… how much I've _cared_ for you, do you…!?'

" **First, it was my quirk! But you didn't stop there!"** Bakugo kept roaring, and inside Deku's head pictures of him and Kacchan when they were little… began to _shatter…!_

 **"You've copied other Heroes, too! I've seen those quirks you've used before, from the Pros themselves! Do you take me for an** ** _idiot!?"_**

 **Yes? No? Deku couldn't answer that as his heart swarmed with feelings.**

" **But most of all…! You actually had the guts… to copy** ** _his_** **quirk, too!"**

'His…?' Deku thought. Who was Kacchan referring to with such _conviction?_

Red fury was covered in Kacchan's gaze, as his voice scream through the mic, screamed _throughout the building_ , " **You copied All Might's power! That was his quirk you've used to toss that damn ball! Isn't that right, Deku!?"**

 _ **. . . ! ! !**_

Deku's pace slowed to a crawl, before he fell on his knees, as his mind shut down.

'No way…' He thought, as tears freely ran down his cheeks, and he made no attempt to stop them, 'How did you… figure it out so quick… Kacchan…?'

It was All Might's secret, passed onto him…! _One that should've never been made public…!_

And yet… _**He blew it!**_

* * *

 _In the Spectator Room…_

* * *

 _All Might felt his heart jump at hearing Bakugo's revelation._

He could feel a headache coming forward.

'Not even a _year_ has passed…' All Might thought, cursing his luck, '…And yet, Bakugo has a lead on Midoriya and **One for All** …'

"Hey… what's going on?" Mineta, who was strangely silent through the whole test, finally spoke up, "Those two at the bomb have totally stopped fighting. Are they cheating!?"

All Might's eyes widened, '…was Bakugo's mic on!? Iida could've heard the whole thing, too!'

The Hero's fists tightened, 'That makes _three_ students who have a lead. This isn't good…!'

"Even Izuku has stopped running. He looks… upset?" Ojiro spoke up as well, his tail flicking with interest, "What _exactly_ did Bakugo yell out?"

"He probably shouted a distraction?" Momo reasoned, holding out a hand, "Using emotions against a Hero is something villains would do, after all."

"No. Bakugo isn't _just_ acting like a villain." The bird-boy, Tokoyami, put his two cents in, "Bakugo found something out. It's enough to stop those two," Referring to Ochako and Iida, "From fighting each other, so it _must_ be something important."

"What was Bakugo yelling, All Might?" Momo approached her teacher with nothing but curiosity, and said teacher jumped.

' _What an incredibly perspective class!'_ All Might was sweating a bit, ' _This class is so smart it's_ ** _scary!_** _And_ ** _I'm_** _supposed to be the teacher, here!?_ ** _'_**

 **"** A- **hem**!" Clearing his throat, All Might caught the attention of the class, "As much as I hate to say it, Bakugo ended up bringing personal matters to his fight against Midoriya." He half-lied.

"For the sake of their privacy, I shall keep those matters between themselves, and me." Momo had a small look of frustration at the answer, but noticed All Might bring up a hand to his headset.

"However, all of them need a push in the right direction, or else this test will never be finished. Leave that to me!" And with that, All Might clicked his headset…

* * *

 _With Ochako…_

* * *

 ***"FIVE MINUTES REMAINING!"*** All Might called down to both Iida and Ochako, and they jumped at the announcement.

They looked back to each other, almost having a whole moment of silence between the two, until—

" _I'm winning this fight!"_ Ochako suddenly exclaimed, lunging for the bomb, snapping Iida into attention.

"Oh no you _don't!"_ Iida yelled back, using his quirk to run for the bomb and move it. Ochako stumbled once Iida grabbed the bomb, and moved a good twenty meters away from her.

"Darn it…!" Ochako cursed, and Iida felt his villain side come back into full gear!

* * *

 _With Deku…_

* * *

 ***"FIVE MINUTES REMAINING!"*** Deku could hear All Might call out. Deku, hearing his mentor's voice, took it to heart and decided—with conviction!—he _needed_ to finish this test.

"Ya' hear that, Deku! Get your scrawny ass out here and _fight me!_ " Kacchan taunted the boy, but Deku no longer heeded his words.

'I won't, Kacchan. I will do what I can to win!' Feeling his arm heal up a slight bit, he ran a full sprint, 'I _have_ to win… for _Uraraka_!'

Almost like clockwork, his started to open the Hero Notebook in his head. It turned to a page of Ochako Uraraka, with details sprinkled here and there about her quirk.

'She touches things with her fingers, about a hand's worth, to give it **Zero Gravity!** ' As Deku began thinking, while searching for the nearest window.

'And to release the quirk, she presses both hands together to return the gravity!' Deku had a smirk, convinced it was simple enough for him to figure it out…

…but no buzz, ' _Rip!'_ or click came with his thoughts. Deku's smirk immediately fell.

'No way! It's not enough!?'

In an aimless attempt, Deku looked at his hands, and found no pads on the tips of his fingers.

'Uraraka's quirk isn't working! _What is it that I'm missing!?'_ Deku cursed his luck as he kept running.

"Deku! Don't make me call you one more time! _Fight me already!"_ Deku's brain got scrambled by Kacchan's echoing voice

'Would you just—No! Deku, _focus!'_ he calmed himself, and ran around a corner—

Only to be greeted with… light?

Sure enough, Deku's original objective stared back at him like a beacon in the dark—A window sat on the wall across from him.

'…That's one thing down!' Deku aimed to stay optimistic, as he ran to said window, 'I just gotta figure out Uraraka's quirk!'

Standing next to the window, he began climbing it, while his mind ran overtime, 'C'mon, think, Deku! There's got be something she said that might help!'

 _"I can only use my quirk on so many objects. If it's heavy, even one object can be enough for me to vom… er, enough for my weakness to appear."_

 _"A-After I… release my quirk, sometimes… I kinda… Sorta… Maybe… Throw up?"_

Standing on the windowsill, Deku pondered Ochako's Quirk's weakness, 'Why does that happen? Shouldn't turning off an object's gravity have no effect on the person…?'

Unless!—

"What the hell're you doing up there, nerd?" Izuku's body stiffened at hearing Kacchan's voice, as he turned to meet the hothead, head-on.

"Kacchan…" Deku mumbled, trying to focus on thinking about Ochako's quirk, without setting Bakugo off.

"Well? Are you going to answer my question?" He leaned forward, "Better yet, let me ask you something else… why didn't you use All Might's quirk on me, yet?"

"That's…!" Deku felt his blood go cold at him talking about All Might's power so freely. Kacchan grinned.

"I thought you were going to teach me a lesson, right? Then _do_ it!" his face grew intense, "C'mon! Bring back the **_energy _**you had when you and I fought before! Where the _hell_ did it all go!?"

"I can't just… wait!" Deku had a glimmer of an idea about what was missing, with Ochako's quirk.

'If Ochako converted the gravity of the objects she touched… into some sort of _energy,_ " Deku closed his eyes as he pushed all other thoughts aside, 'That would be the reason why Uraraka would be affected by those objects!'

And, sure enough, he felt that familiar buzz in the back of his head.

"Well, if you can't wait, then get me! _I'm right here!_ " Kacchan called out with a sneer, before getting pissed as he was ignored, "Don't make me _repeat myself, Deku!"_

'Then if she pressed her hands together, that energy would be released! And the sudden release of energy would be enough to upset someone's stomach if it was strong enough!' He opened his eyes, as the buzz got even stronger.

' _That's_ the key,' A hand reached inside the notebook, resting on Ochako's page, with the details all cleared up, 'To Uraraka's quirk, **Zero Gravity!** '

 ***rrrRip!***

And it clicked, as Deku looked down at his hands—

To see familiar, small pads on his fingers. His excitement grew!

'I did it!' He cheered in his head, before tagging himself with the quirk—

 **"Deku! ! !"** Said boy jumped at hearing his rival scream his name, and looked to see Kacchan already lunging at the boy, his quirk roaring with firepower!

"Wait, Kaccha—!" Deku's voice was cut short by—

 ***Poom!*** An explosion.

…That ended up shooting Deku far, far away from the building of the test.

" _Craaaap! ! !"_ Deku exclaimed, amazed and _horrified_ at how powerful **Zero Gravity** was!

'Damn it! Even if I turned off the quirk now, I won't make it to the top floor quick enough!' Deku cursed his horrible luck (and horrible friend, for the matter)—

'Unless…' Deku had a strange surge of calm come over him, as he looked at the pads of his fingers, 'Wait a minute…'

If the key to unlocking Uraraka's quirk was discovering how Gravity was made into **energy** …

Could Deku _use_ that **energy** , in a meaningful way?

'Wait wait wait…!' He remembered how pressing his hands together simply removed the energy…!

If the energy was controlled by his hands, pressed against each other, they would be cancelled out… so what would happen…

'What would happen…' he brought his two hands together, to make the 'Release' gesture—

But as soon as he made the gesture, and his hands glowed pink—He pushed them outwards, towards the building!

 ** _"Release!"_** He called out—

 ** _And, in a burst of pink energy, his body shot straight towards his destination!_**

"IT _WORKED_!" Deku screamed, soaring through the sky—

And quickly realized he was falling, too!

"Ah!" Deku made a short yelp, before tagging himself with the quirk to make himself float again, then aiming towards the building once more!

 ** _"Re-Release!"_** Deku stuttered, and felt the burst of energy once more—before tagging himself again to stay afloat.

Now _properly_ flying, he realized— _he was going way too fast into the top floor window!_

"Crap crap crap CRAP!" Deku made himself into a ball, hoping he would fit into the window!

* * *

Ochako and Iida continued their 'match' against one-another, with Iida still in possession of the bomb.

 ***** **ゴゴゴゴ** **Ｍｅｎａｃｉｎｇ** **ゴゴゴゴ** *****

"It's no use! My quirk is the **fastest** , the **strongest** , and most **handsome** quirk there is!" Iida boasted, falling back into his villain roleplay, as he laughed in a weird pose, "You simply have no other choice but to accept defeat!"

"You know I can't do that, Iida! _And since when were quirks handsome, you dummy!"_ Ochako yelled at her friend, frustrated with the turn of events!

"Such a vulgar mouth on you, Ochako Uraraka! And you call yourself a lady!" Iida taunted, earning an angry blush from the girl—

Until a ball of green soared through the window, and _crashed_ onto the wannabe villain, surprising the girl.

"Woah!?" Ochako yelped, but realized who the 'ball' was—

"...Release..." Izuku muttered in pain, and in nasuea, feeling his gravity returning back to him.

"Deku!? About time you showed up!" Ochako exclaimed, smiling

"Ouch…" Deku groaned, before realizing who he was on top of, "I-Iida!? I-I'm so sorry, I just came barreling through the window, and—"

"Unhand me, Hero _scum!_ I will not be held back by such _brutish_ tactics!" Iida yelled, confusing the green-haired kid.

"H-huh?" Deku spoke, confused, before Ochako passed him.

"Just... Keep him down! I'm going to secure the bomb!" Ochako smiled, and Deku nodded.

"Right!" he exclaimed, before holding one of the knight's arms—making sure to tag the boy with his new quirk.

"You left me with _no other choice!_ Witness my ultimate power!" Iida's voice turned serious, as his **Engine** quirk roared below Deku.

"What the—" Deku himself got knocked back at the sudden force, as Iida shot up!

" **Recipro Bur—! !"** Iida began his special move—

 _Only to start spinning midair, as Deku's_ ** _Zero Gravity_** _had it's effect on Iida!_

"— **Uur—uur—uur—uur—rrst!?"** Iida, spinning rapidly, quickly became dizzy as he _tried_ to look at Deku from his predicament,

"I gi—ii—ive! I gi—ii—ive!" he quickly came to defeat, his quirk easily overpowered by **Zero Gravity!**

* * *

Bakugo was madly running up the stairs, having seen Deku launch right back into the building like a green _rocket_. His quirk became more explosive as he exerted himself in running up the top floor.

'Deku…!' As you would have it, the brute had nothing but the nerd on his mind as he reached the final floor.

Running into the hallway, he started yelling, " _No more hiding_ , you damn nerd! Let's finish this, once and for all—"

 ***"THE HERO TEAM…!"*** All Might's triumphant voice suddenly rang in his earpiece, as he looked into the room…

Deku and Ochako standing proudly with the bomb in tow, and Iida on the ground trying his best _not_ to hurl!

 ***"WIIINS! ! !"*** All Might finished his announcement, as Kacchan took the moment to process what he had heard.

"…No way…" Katsuki whispered, loud enough for Deku to notice, as well as the others in the room.

". . ." Deku opted to remain silent, his eyes focused on the blonde at all times. Soon enough, Katsuki's eyes met his own.

A familiar look of anger came through.

"You… bastard!" Kacchan approached Deku, and Iida got back on his feet, holding his stomach.

"Bakugo, while it's a shame we lost the match, there's always room for improvement!—"

"Out of the way, tin can!" Katsuki shoved Iida aside, much to the dismay of Deku and Ochako.

"Iida!" Ochako called out, and Deku's eyes turned firm, as he approached Kacchan as well.

Soon enough, they were face to face.

"Why didn't you use it on me?" Katsuki's question was asked in a low voice, "All Might's quirk. Why?"

"Because I didn't need it." Deku's response was crystal, as he had lost any sense of fear towards the boy. After fighting him one on one with his new quirk, a sense of confidence overcame his childhood fear.

However, this _wasn't_ the response Kacchan wanted to hear, as his body moved.

"Don't _you_ ** _dare look down on me!"_** seemingly losing all sense of self, Kacchan tried to continue his assault from earlier—

"That's _enough,_ Bakugo!" Iida came from behind, and wrapped around Kacchan's arms in a hemlock maneuver, "The test is _over_! We _**lost**_ _!_ Get over yourself already!"

And just like that, with those words, Kacchan seemed to have blanked out, and looked at where Deku was.

Kacchan realized he wasn't starting at the Deku standing in the room with him.

He was staring at the 8 year-old Deku, the one who always got in his way of having 'fun' with other students.

The one that, no matter how much he cried, he always smiled as he protected the brat.

And he lost… to _that?_

No.

 _ **No!**_

 _ **NO! ! !**_

Kacchan began struggling once more, with veins actively protruding out of his arms from stress. Despite Iida's best attempt, he was losing strength fast!—

Kacchan aimed for the pin on his _other_ gauntlet.

A deep chill ran down Deku's spine at that fact.

"Ochako." Deku suddenly spoke Ochako's first name, catching her by surprise, "Run away. Now!"

"What? Why?" Ochako asked, opting to get closer to the boy for a clear response, much to his dismay—

" **De… ku…!** " Kacchan's face grew red with rage, and Deku pressed his earpiece twice.

"All Might—!"

 ***"I'm coming as quick as I can!—"*** All Might spoke. Not the response he was hoping for, Deku could only watch aimlessly as—

" **Get off me!"** Kacchan screamed, headbutting the knight as his grip weakened. Iida stammered backwards as Kacchan was released—

And a finger was slotted through the pin of his gauntlet.

"Kacchan, _**don't! !"**_ Izuku pleaded, prayed that somewhere deep in Kacchan, he would finally _stop!_

" **Don't tell me what to do, Deku…"** In a chilling voice, he pulled the pin.

 ***Fwaaa—***

And Deku reacted. Grabbing Ochako, he thrusted a hand forward!

 ***BOOOOOM! ! !***

 _ **"BLACK HOLE! ! !"**_ Izuku screamed, losing all inhibition in hopes to save his friend!

 ***Vwoon!***

Fire met Dark Matter immediately, and the strong burst of flame broke all the windows present in the top floor.

 _"Ghhhh! !"_ The blast wasn't being sucked enough, as the heat overwhelmed him and Ochako—who was holding onto Izuku for dear life.

Something snapped inside Deku, as he tugged onto a power he never thought he'd use!

' **One for All…!'** He commanded his heart, and called upon that quirk, hoping it would do something…!

 ***VWOOORRRRN! ! !***

The black hole almost doubled—no, _tripled_ in size, as it effortlessly at the remnants of the explosion Kacchan sent out.

"Aah…!" Kacchan's footing tripped at the sudden suction the huge abyss created, as he was _quickly sliding into the black hole,_ "Aaaah…!" quick quips only came out as he looked at the entity with fright!—

Until it disappeared. The hole, the explosion… everything was gone.

 _An overwhelming silence was all that was left._

"Haa…" Deku panted, checking himself and looking around to see if anything got caught inside the hole.

He looked below to see a rather dome-ish sized crater left below him… and nothing else notable to report.

Looking back up at Katsuki, _his own face grew angry, as tears welled up._

Kacchan started growling himself, "E-Even _then,_ you didn't use All Might's power! Stop holding back, Deku—"

 **"That's ENOUGH,** _ **Katsuki! !"**_ Deku walked away from Ochako, and yelled the boy's actual name with an _incredibly emotional voice_ , " **When will you just QUIT IT!?"**

"What're you…!?" Katsuki flinched when Deku grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up to his face.

" **When are you going to stop acting like a KID!? HUH!?"** Deku didn't know what overcame him, but somewhere along the line of Deku nearly facing death, and his _newest friend_ close to experiencing the same, he lost himself in a fit of emotion.

"Deku, stop! It's okay!" Ochako called out _ **.**_ Deku felt his temper cool a little at hearing her voice—

"When you use All Might's damn power." Katsuki's request was clear, as his glare was never-ending, "I want to see it, in _your_ stupid hands, before I'm satisfied."

". . ." Deku was silent, considering his request. Iida stepped forward.

"Don't make such ridiculous assumptions, Bakugo. Even with Midoriya's quirk, there's _no way_ he'd have All Might's quirk so quickly—"

"You'll stop if I use it, Kacchan?" Deku, using his friend's nickname once again, _considered_ his request, "I have your word on this?"

"Don't push your luck, nerd." Kacchan, looking away, gave no heat to Deku's pressure. Seeing that this was the best response he was gonna get out of Kacchan, Deku dropped him back on the ground.

"Fine. I'll give you what you want." _Deku's voice was cold and dry_ , holding no spark of friendship to his once-childhood friend. Iida looked to Izuku in shock.

"Wait—So is what Bakugo saying true!? You actually—"

"Yes." Deku, although not on purpose, responded coldly to Iida as he walked past Ochako—

Ochako could see the desperation in his shaded eyes. He was _aching_ to put Kacchan on a leash.

Ochako's face fell, before she turned to Deku's back as, with the help of **Zero Gravity,** he easily moved the decoy bomb aside.

"You don't have to do this, Deku…!" she tried reasoning with boy, and he stopped, "Let's just end it here. All Might's coming."

"Release…" Deku's voice was tired as he returned the gravity to the decoy bomb, "Kacchan's not giving me much choice here… and besides…"

Deku turned to meet Kacchan dead in the eyes, "This'll be the last thing I'll do for him, as his friend." He finished, sending shock down the blonde's spine.

"You can't be serious…!" Kacchan felt uncertainty in Deku's words, as he shifted into a fighting pose, against the wall, "You followed me around ever since we were kids!—"

"Shut up and _watch_ , Kacchan." Deku's voice was abrasive, acidic, and Kacchan felt whatever else he had to say, hitch up his throat, "I can't afford you to miss this, and back out on your promise."

Pulling back a fist, Deku made amends with what was coming next.

If he was gonna get in trouble, or fail the test, so be it.

 _'Anything…'_ Deku thought, as **One for All** coursed through his fist and magnified his power, 'To prevent Kacchan from attacking my friends again…!'

With resolution, Deku made the motion,

 **"Detroit…!"** Deku spoke, catching all three in the room's attention, as energy sparked in the air!—

Dragging his leg forward, his body leaned into the attack, putting all of his force onto his arm!

 **"SMAAASH! ! !"** Deku roared.

And power flooded the room.

 ***Poom—BSSHHHH! ! !***

"Woah!?" Ochako fell to the ground at the sudden current of wind.

"Are you _**serious!?"**_ Feeling the force up close, Iida couldn't believe Deku had such power!

Kacchan watched, with his heart dropping like a log, 'This is definitely… All Might's quirk…!'

Raw force slammed onto the wall—and pushed onward, breaking the entire side of the wall as the roof teetered down from the lack of support.

The force didn't stop there, as it blew (along with spare bricks and rubble) to the _next_ building neighboring nearby—

And promptly smashing into _that_ building as well, creating another massive hole into its foundation!

By then the force was greatly dissipated, but not before it ripped through the building's support and infrastructure…

—And promptly, _the roof of the neighboring building started to collapse._

"Oh my God…" Ochako couldn't help but whisper… before she looked up to Deku, and— "Oh my _**God!?"**_

"Midoriya! Your arm!" Iida rushed over, ignoring the destruction his quirk caused, to support Deku.

"That was All Might's quirk, alright…" Kacchan started shaking, as his fists tightened, "Was that so hard to do, De—"

Kacchan finally looked at Deku… and then noticed his current predicament, "—ku…?"

Like a puppet with no string, Deku's arm hung lifeless as he looked to Kacchan with disappointment.

He could see tears, but they weren't tears of a crybaby. The hard look in his eyes said otherwise.

"Hey… Kacchan… Now that I've done exactly what you asked…" Deku slowly walked to the boy, who was looking at Deku with shock.

A sad smile rose on Deku's face, as tears rushed out.

"Le-let's… stop being fr-friends… okay?" Deku spoke, and Kacchan felt nothing but shock.

"That's enough, young man." A new voice came, as All Might walked into the room. Kacchan watched as Deku looked to his idol in surprise.

"All Might…!" Deku spoke in a hushed whisper, as more tears came forward. What could he say? What was there _to say?—_

Stress. Exhaustion. Emotion. Many things overwhelmed Deku and his body simply gave up, too tired to do anything else, "I'm sor…ry…" he whispered, as he fell over…

Before Deku could topple to the ground, Iida caught him, "Midoriya! Hey! Mido—"

"He's just tired, Young Iida." All Might spoke, his voice calm as Iida looked up to his teacher in surprise, "Let him rest. I've called for some help to assist him in being delivered to Recovery Girl—"

"Le-let me take him there!" Iida requested, and All Might rose an eyebrow, "I've already taken him once before, back in the Entrance Exam. I would like to help him again… i-if I could!—"

"That's mighty-kind of you, young Iida!" All Might laughed, much to the confusion of the young adult, "But it's not necessary. Besides, you need to remain here for the rest of the lesson."

All Might held out a finger, "Otherwise, I might have to write you up for skipping class!"

"U-Understood!" Iida, fearing any sort of scholar punishment, opted to remain in class instead… as much as he hated to do so, looking towards Deku.

"Young Bakugo," All Might continued, and the blond turned his head an inch to hear him, "I cannot say the same for you, however. As your teacher, I _must_ order you to visit Principal Nedzu's Office."

"What do you—!?" Kacchan's immediate reaction was surprise, until he faced All Might himself.

He was _not_ smiling.

" **Immediately."** With a tone of authority, All Might commanded his student to follow his instruction, " **Or** _ **else."**_

". . .!" Kacchan looked at the surreal scene in front of him, and felt himself shake, before turning around, _"Tsk…!"_

With a click of his tongue, Kacchan got up and began leaving the room feeling _many_ different emotions.

All Might proceeded to approach Deku, Ochako and Iida after Kacchan's departure. Iida laid Deku flat on the ground, before looking at his teacher. The hero held a hand at his forehead.

"I owe the three of you an apology." All Might began, and they blinked. Well—except for Deku, of course.

"I was ill-prepared for one of my students to be this…" All Might thought of a proper word, " _Energetic_ … during this test. I gave the okay for the Villain Teams to do whatever they like, but something like this… was far beyond my expectations."

"This is also a learning experience for me, as your teacher here in U.A... I promise to do my job better." To the students' surprise, All Might gave a former bow, "I hope you two have it in you to forgive me."

"It…!" Ochako shook her head, before smiling.

"It's okay, All Might! Really!" Ochako got flustered at _THE_ All Might asking for her forgiveness, before looking down at Deku, "Besides, I'm not really that hurt… Thanks to Deku…"

Ochako looked at the arm that Deku used to prepare the **Detroit Smash** , 'It's just as bad… as back in the Entrance Exam…' she thought to herself, finding similarities in both situations.

"I also would like to make a selfish request." All Might spoke once more, and Iida and Ochako looked up to their teacher.

"Regarding Young Midoriya's sudden acquirement of my quirk, I would kindly have to ask you two to keep the quirk a secret among yourselves. _Please_."

"Wait… Huh?" Ochako blinked, and Iida was just as confused. All Might held out a hand.

"It would be dangerous for Young Midoriya to be revealed having the same quirk as me. There is no doubt in my head that villains and enemies of mine would seek him out if that happened." The teacher reasoned.

Dread popped between both Ochako and Iida, as they looked at each other, before nodding.

"Got it." Iida spoke for both of them, and All Might nodded.

"I don't think I need to say anymore. Regardless of who won today," All Might gave a thumbs up to the students, "I'm proud of both of your performances. Keep up the good work, you two!"

"Th-thanks!" Ochako appreciated the warm praise, before looking back at Deku.

His mind pursed her thoughts, as she heard All Might turn away, before she looked back up.

"All Might." She spoke, and said man stopped, "Er… All Might-sensei." She corrected herself, and the teacher laughed.

"All Might's just fine, Young One!" he reassured her, and Ochako smiled, before looking down at Deku.

"Please… do something about Bakugo." She requested, catching the teacher's (and Iida's) attention, as she continued,

"Deku's mentioned it before… but Bakugo has been nothing but awful to him… and I just don't see the reason _why_ …!"Her voice cracked, as she felt tears well up in her eyes.

She felt hopeless when Katsuki attacked her and Deku, almost like back at the Entrance Exam, with the giant robot near the end of it. And yet Deku handled both situations, just to protect _her._

"He's been so kind… so friendly…" she brushed a bit of Deku's hair off his face as she spoke, "And someone like that doesn't deserve Bakugo's... _abuse_ …!"

"Young Lady," All Might responded, and she waited for more, "I will do whatever I can, in my power, to set Bakugo right. I hope to make him, just like every single one of you, a Hero someday!"

Ochako's posture wilted, as he rested her eyes on Deku's arm.

"Bakugo's no hero…" Ochako whispered, and left it at that. With a sigh, All Might turned and faced the doorway.

'Even with Bakugo's talent and quirk, _someone_ has to keep that boy in check… I will leave Bakugo's punishment for Nedzu to figure out.' All Might concluded to himself.

Outside the room, Katsuki Bakugo overheard the conversation with gritted teeth… frustrated at _nobody but himself_.

Without saying a word, he held a fist, and pounded it against the wall.

* * *

With a little flinch, Izuku woke up, his eyes adjusting to the light.

"This is…" he looked around with a bit of confusion, "The school infirmary…?" he concluded, looking at the familiar scenery and medical equipment.

". . ." Deku took a moment to process this with a straight face…

"Oh _no_!" he exclaimed, bolting up from his bed, "I'm going to miss the rest of the class!—"

"Settle down, Izuku." The boy blinked, as he looked to see Recovery Girl walk around the corner to meet him, "You're not going to get proper rest jumping up like that."

"But what about!—" Izuku stopped once Recovery Girl held up a hand.

"It's already Mid-Afternoon." She told the boy, and his face turned into one of shock, "You've been asleep since All Might sent you here. Classes will come to a close in roughly 30 minutes anyways."

"No way…" he fell back into the comfort of his bed, "What kind of student am I to miss an _entire_ class like this…?"

"Well, for starters…" the Doctor began speaking, and Izuku looked up—

 ***Thwack!*** "O-Ow!?" Izuku cried out while holding his head, looking at Recovery Girl with confusion.

"You shouldn't have used **One for All** so needlessly in the first place!" she chastised the boy, and Izuku's breath hitched.

"But if I didn't, Kacchan would've never left me and my friends alone!" Izuku cried out in frustration.

"The boy Bakugo's fate was decided as soon as he made that _reckless_ attack after the test!" The Pro Hero continued to chastise Izuku, " _Never_ assume that we aren't here to take responsibility for you all when one of you turn sour. There's a reason U.A's regarded as one of the Top Schools in the first place, after all."

"R…" Izuku looked down at his arms. Both of them were wrapped, with the arm he used **One for All** with, in a cast, "Right."

The sound of a door sliding open could be heard.

"I'm assuming he's awake, then?" A voice, All Might in his smaller form, Izuku noted. He looked to see All Might appear around the corner, "Good, kid. You're finally up."

"All Might…!" At first, Izuku was happy to see his mentor—

 _"You copied All Might's power! Isn't that right, Deku!?"_

His face fell, remembering Kacchan's words.

"Did you hear… what Kacchan said, All Might?" Izuku asked, honestly hoping for a no—

"I've spectated the entirety of your match, Midoriya." All Might spoke, and Izuku sank like a rock, "I think you know the answer yourself, Young Man."

"…I've only…!" Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes, "…used it _once!_ And yet Kacchan was smart enough to—"

"That isn't going to be an issue, Midoriya." All Might spoke firmly, as he held out a hand, "You don't need to worry about the matter any longer, I promise."

"All Might…?" Izuku looked confused, but All Might's face was firm,

"If you can move, Midoriya," he turned around, "We need to talk in my office." He finished.

Before Izuku could give a response—

"Oh _no,_ Toshi." Recovery Girl spoke with a firm voice, "What that boy needs is _rest._ I think he's had enough excitement for today."

"But this is _important!—"_ All Might tried to reason with the girl, and she threatened to use her cane.

"Don't you _dare_ talk your way out of this one—"

"It's okay, Recovery Girl!" Izuku called out, before using his free arm to take off the covers, "If All Might says it's important, I'd like to hear what he has to say." He urged, and the girl looked to him.

She sighed… she was getting too old for this job.

"You're a bad influence on the boy, _Toshi."_ Drawing out All Might's name, she made the preparations to dismiss Izuku.

* * *

Walking in the hallway, All Might lead the way with a beaten-up Izuku in tow.

Safe to say, the trip was mostly silent, as Izuku looked out the window, thinking about things he could've done differently.

It was good for All Might, since he had _thoughts of his own_ to sort through…

* * *

 _A few months ago…_

* * *

 _It had been some time since Izuku dropped the bomb about his newest quirk… one that copied quirks like Endeavor's_ _ **Hell Flame**_ _and kept it to himself._

 _It had been such a revelation that he couldn't help but call for the help of one of his closest friends._

 _"Ah, Toshinori!" standing in front of his office, All Might met face to face with his friend,_ _ **Naomasa Tsukauchi—**_ _A detective working directly under the Federal Investigation Agency for Japan._

 _Going by Nao for short, he had been a big help to All Might in the past, when he was in his prime and actively working in Japan—Considering his line of work, it was natural for the two of them to grow acquainted with one-another._

 _And, also considering his line of work, it didn't take much for him to figure out the secret of_ _ **One for All**_ _himself, without any leads given from All Might._

 _Yeah. Nao was a handful._

 _"So what brings you in here today, friend?" Nao began, pouring himself a cup of coffee for the conversation… before turning to Toshinori, "Coffee?"_

 _"No thanks." All Might kindly declined with a frown, before cutting to the chase, "I'm looking for your opinion on a quirk. I'm hoping to keep this conversation as short as possible, to be honest."_

 _"What? Still paranoid about me figuring out all your secrets?" Nao laughed, sitting down on the opposite side of his desk, "I've already told you I'll play nice after I found out about your quirk. What kind of friend am I to tarnish a promise between us?"_

 _"Nao, I'm serious." All Might spoke, exasperated._

 _"Fine, fine…" Nao took up a serious look, himself, "What kind of quirk is it?" he asked._

 _"Frankly, I'm not sure." All Might began, as he crossed both his hands under his chin, "But a student at U.A has recently developed the ability to copy others quirks by…"_

 _"By…" Nao pursued All Might's conversation, and he looked up._

 _"'Wishing' for it to happen." Remembering how Izuku described it, All Might gave his reason._

 _Nao, blinking a for a moment, gave a short whistle, "What a quirk. And just who has this student copied, All Might?"_

 _"As of now, 7 people. There's—" All Might was cut off by Nao laughing._

 _"Hot damn! Well, I think I've heard enough buddy." Nao placed his cup down and pulled up the calendar on his laptop._

 _"What? But I haven't explained the quirks yet?" All Might was dumbfounded. Nao shook his head._

 _"I don't need to. I've got a pretty clear idea on what quirk this boy has." Making a memento on his calender, he properly faced the Symbol of Peace._

 _"The ability to take others' quirks, and to keep it for themselves'." Nao recited the details of a certain quirk in his database, once again holding his coffee, "That sounds like a more befitting description for this young man's quirk, don't you think?"_

 _All Might took in the description… and felt okay with it matching what Izuku's quirk can do._

 _But it sounded familiar._

 _"The way you say it like that, Nao, you're making sound like Izuku's quirk is…"_

 _And then it dawned on him. Izuku's quirk sounded so, so much similar to his Arch-nemesis._

 _Slowly, ever so slowly, Yagi's eyes began widening, "Izuku's quirk… could it be… **All for One?** "_

* * *

 _Present Day…_

* * *

 _"I'd like for you to fetch me a sample of his DNA, Toshinori."_ All Might could remember Nao's words, even now, _"Be it a strand of hair or a nail, we can use it to cross-reference All for One's DNA we have here."_

 _"If this ends up being the case, then Izuku might have some lineage with the family All for One is related to."_

A sense of uncomfort came to All Might as he remembered how Nao ended it at that. Truthfully, if Izuku ended up being in the same bloodline as his enemy, he wouldn't know what the detective would do.

But, even so, it was a pressing matter to All Might, one that he had to know as soon as he can, after he made sure his suspicions were correct.

The 'Hero V.S Villain' Test ended up being a good case study for All Might to put Izuku through.

After finally reaching his office, All Might sat on the couch, and motioned for Izuku to follow suit, "Sit down, Midoriya. Let's talk."

Following his teacher's example, Izuku glanced at him with curiosity, "…What did you want to talk about, All Might."

"Before I begin, Midoriya…" All Might outstretched his hand, "I would kindly ask for you to pull a piece of your hair off, and hand it over."

It was an incredibly strange request for him to make, All Might thought, but now knowing what Izuku could do with his quirk, he was certain enough to make a match between him and All for One.

He was prepared to talk about his enemy, if need be, but these matters will have to come first—

Wait… why was Midoriya _crying!?_

"You're not gonna take back **One for All,** are you…?" Deku's voice was emotional, catching the Pro Hero off guard.

"No, of course not! We've already made the agreement that you were my successor!—"

"Then why do you need my hair? Didn't you give me a piece of yours, saying ' ** _EAT THIS'_** —" In an almost comical fashion, Deku's crying face jumped into All Might's, before returning into his, once again, crying face.

"I don't understand why you'd need my hair now, after all this time…?" Izuku looked at his mentor with watery eyes, and said mentor sighed.

"Don't go blowing things out of proportion, Midoriya." All Might's voice was calm, and reassuring, "A friend of mine works in the police force. He wants to look into your DNA and see where your quirk comes from. I _promise_ that's the only reason."

"Oh…!" Deku held a smile of relief, as he quickly wiped away his tears, "That makes more sense! Thank you!"

'You wouldn't be able to transfer your quirk away anyway, unless you really wanted to, Midoriya.' All Might also thought, but kept it to himself, 'But considering your recent stunt with Bakugo, I think I'll keep that fact secret for now.'

Izuku plucked a hair from his head, and handed it over to All Might, who placed it inside a capsule labeled for [ ** _F.I.A_** **use only**.]

"Now then, let's continue our talk." All Might pushed the conversation forward, getting his student's attention.

* * *

 ** _Note: Following scene is a repeat of a scene in the Pilot! (Ch 1)_**

 ** _If you wish to skip this, head to the next bold-italic linebreak!_**

* * *

"Young man," Yagi Toshinori began, "I was hoping to talk to you about this at some other point of time, perhaps when you held a better grip at using One for All… but seeing this new… quirk in development, I can see that is a route I simply cannot take."

"Wh-What are you talking about, All Might?..." Izuku spoke with a baited breath, unnerved with how serious his tone is.

"Your new quirk… It already has a name: **All for One.** It's a quirk that gives you control over others quirks. No time limit, and no catch as far as I know. The quirk is yours once you claim it." Despite how powerful this quirk sounded, Izuku couldn't help but feel uneasy with All Might's conviction.

"That's amazing, b-but," Izuku carefully tried to word what he was going to say next, "You already know a quirk like that exists? W-Who has it as well?"

'Izuku Midoriya, you're cunning once again surprises me…' A small grin fell on All Might's lips, before he dropped it.

"I'll be frank, Midoriya. Your quirk is the same as my Arch-Nemesis, the Anti-Symbol of Peace. He refers to himself by the name of the quirk, All for One." Yagi finally

Izuku reeled back at the revelation, and tensed at the implications…

'No way… then this quirk… is the same as All Might's sworn enemy?... To think I'd have a quirk like this suddenly appear—'

And then Izuku's eyes widened, 'Wait… does All Might… despise me now, because of this quirk?!'

After everything that happened earlier, he _couldn't_ have that happen. He nearly jumped out of his seat, "A-All Might, I—"

"Midoriya-kun, I'll be clear to say that despite this new quirk, my opinion of you has not changed!" All Might said proudly, and Izuku's faced turned into that of comedic shock.

'Di-Did All Might just read my mind!?' he exclaimed in his head, as Yagi continued.

"Indeed, with this new quirk, you will turn out to be quite the disciple, and **One for All** 's power will crystalize like no other! Hahaha—Bweh…" Yagi promptly puked out blood after his bellowed laughter, causing Izuku to panic.

"Still though, it's hard to believe how differently your quirk works compared to All for One's—Er," Yagi quickly noticed how difficult it'll be to keep referring his enemy by his quirk's name, "My Nemesis's quirk. Young Midoriya, care to explain to me again how your quirk activates?"

"O-Of course! Although it's, uh, a bit hard to word out. I'll try to explain the best I can!"

Izuku closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts.

"So, um… the way my quirk works—Or, rather, the way I make it work, is like this." He brought out one of his notebooks, the one that was battered and burned by Bakugo back before he made it to U.A High, "I've been writing books like these ever since I've wanted to be a hero, thanks to you I might add, All Might!"

"A-Anyway, I've been writing about heroes for so long that I've almost memorized each and every page up to this point. And even now, I'm writing about my classmates and their quirks, their abilities, and I feel their potential just buzzing in my brain!"

"I think I still don't understand how your quirk activates, Young Midoriya…?" All Might begins to wonder if he's beginning to mumble again at this point, and Izuku shakes his head.

"No no, I haven't got there yet! When my quirk activates, I just think about the page of the hero I want to be… and just rip the page right out of the book!—"

 ***rrrrRip!***

"Just like this?" Yagi tries to interpret what he's saying, but ends up ripping one of Izuku's pages in his notebook. Izuku's body shakes at the sound, and tears immediately form in his eyes.

"Aaaah! No, not physically! All Might!?" Izuku cries out, snapping his book back into his arms, and Yagi, realizing that he screwed up something fierce, starts sweating.

"Ah, crap, my bad, my bad! I'm really sorry, Midoriya-kun!" All Might furiously apologizes, before rubbing his neck, "Really, this quirk is incredibly important to understand, young man. Please understand how important this is."

"Right, I'm sorry!" In the end, it was Izuku that ended up apologizing, before he glance at the page that was ripped out. A smile ended up forming in his lips, "…this'll be perfect." Izuku showed the page to All Might, "All Might, can you see who this is?"

"Hm?" Yagi glanced at the page, and noticed the figure's angry expression, and the way the costume seemed to explode in different directions. Ah, explode huh? "This is… Katsuki Bakugo… san, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right. This is Kacchan. He and I were childhood friends for the longest time." He held out his arm, "And thanks to that,"

Izuku's hand started crackling, as small explosions harmlessly lifted off of his palm, "I have a easier time using Kacchan's Explosion quirk, more than anyone else's quirk…"

"Oh!..." Yagi marveled at the display of the quirk that didn't belong to Izuku, before looking up, "Why don't you use it more often, if it's so easy to use?"

"It's…" Izuku's expression turned grim, "A long story…"

He shook his head, "But anyway, like I said before, I just rip the page of the book, inside my head, and acquire the quirk! At least, that's how it works for me. Heh heh…" Stressing one part of his statement, he wraps up with an awkward laugh as Yagi processes all this info.

* * *

 ** _Back to original content!_**

* * *

All this talk about Kacchan had the boy thinking: What was going to happen to Bakugo after today?

Recovery Girl was being vague on purpose, so clearly it should be something that both her and All Might should know… right?

"All Might," he began, and the teacher looked up, "What will happen to Kacchan? Do you know?"

All Might paused… before sighing.

"Midoriya, I'll be frank, what Bakugo did today was very… _destructive_ to do." He looked out the windows, as the sun began to set, "Very Rarely have Heroes-in-training pulled stunts that he has today. That's for a good reason."

Turning back to the boy, his eyes looked straight at Izuku, "Knowing Principal Nedzu, Bakugo will be taking a short, three-day suspension from U.A…"

Izuku felt the air get thick, as All Might leaned forward—

 _"Before he is officially transferred…_ _ **into Class 1-B."**_

Izuku's breath hitched. Class 1-B? There was another class? And Kacchan was being moved there?

Sure, a class without Bakugo was what he wished for, at the start of the school year, but…

Izuku couldn't help but… feel like _he_ was partially the reason for Kacchan's actions…

Izuku raised his head, "Where is Kacchan now?"

All Might scratched his cheek, "Considering it's been thirty minutes since we left Recovery Girl's office…"

* * *

Izuku was running in the hallway, looking out to the Entrance of U.A as the students leaving the school thinned out by a lot.

Sure enough, he noticed a familiar head of bleached hair, in the small crowd. Izuku kicked his speed up even further and made his way outside the school.

"Kacchan!" Izuku called out, and said boy stopped halfway past the school courtyard.

"Deku…" he muttered, but it lost the usual heat it had. However, his eyes were dim as he looked to the boy.

Izuku stopped himself short, giving himself a fair distance from the hothead.

'I reached him… but… what do I say…?' Izuku's mind came to a halt when he got to this point, as his hands shook a little, 'I can't afford to waste his time, or else—'

"Hey, Deku…" Much to the Green-haired boy's surprise, it was Kacchan that started talking!—

 _"Was our friendship just one big lie?"_

Izuku stiffened at the question… before his shoulders fell as his eyes turned downtrodden.

"What kind of question is _that_ , Kacchan…?" Izuku, despite saying he wanted to break off the friendship in the first place, _still_ sounded hurt.

"Just answer the _damn_ question." Kacchan spat out, but Izuku didn't flinch.

Closing his eyes to gather his thoughts, he shortly opened them, and began to speak.

"If it was fake… I wouldn't have saved you from that Sludge Villain back then." Bringing _that_ up, Kacchan turned around completely.

"I _told you_ , I don't owe you _anything_ for saving me that day!" Kacchan exclaimed, and Deku could only smile.

"I didn't want anything. At the time, I just _really_ wanted to save my friend." He responded. And Kacchan started shaking.

"You… you… stupid… selfless _nerd_!" Kacchan gritted his teeth, and Deku prepared for the worst—

Until he started _crying_!?

"You have _any_ idea… just how _frustrated_ you make me!?" His hands balled into fists, "Suddenly getting your quirk out of nowhere! Beating me in the Entrance Exam—and _today, too!_ " he cursed under his breath.

"I never thought someone like _you_ would get so, so much further ahead of me! And now… you'll only get farther and farther past me…!" His eyes clenched as he held his head, "Because **_I'm an idiot! ! !"_**

Deku could only watch as he flicked his wrist, constantly, "Damn it… _Damn it…!_ _ **Damn it…!"**_

" **Hey, Deku!"** Kacchan suddenly called him out, and he could only look at Kacchan's frustrated face, "Don't you _dare_ get comfy in that class by yourself, you hear me!?"

Deku's lips thinned as Kacchan continued, "This'll only be a short setback, do you _understand!?_ Even if it takes me a whole year to get back in—I _will_ come back, **got it!?"**

"Yeah…" Deku faintly responded, and Kacchan grit his teeth some more,

"Go ahead and copy _all_ the quirks you want! All Might, Endeavor, _Me,_ it doesn't matter!" he spoke loudly with emotion, as he slammed a fist in his chest,

"Because once I come back, I'll _beat you_ next time, fair and square! I'll make sure I become the Number One Hero… **_no matter what!"_**

"Yeah." Deku felt a smile at hearing Katsuki's promise. His passion was something he couldn't ignore.

"So until that happens…" With a turn of a heel, he marched off, "Goodbye _for now,_ you damn nerd!"

Waving a hand, Deku watched the retreating figure, "Goodbye… Kacchan…"

* * *

After everything that happened, Deku chose to sit on the grass in U.A's courtyard, some ways away from the school entrance.

Looking at clouds, his head was heavy with everything that had happened today.

From highs and lows. Winning the test, losing a friend, learning a quirk, nearly dying.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

A heavy sigh came out of Deku's lips.

"Deku?" A voice he hadn't expected to hear, as he turned himself to see…

"Uraraka… san?" Deku couldn't imagine seeing the girl leave this late. Ochako ran closer to him, before letting out a breath of fresh air.

"Oh thank _goodness!"_ Ochako sounded _tired,_ as if she was running a marathon, "I was about to call it quits and go home!"

Deku was _still_ confused, "What were you trying to do?" he asked.

Ochako looked offended, her mouth open in shock.

"Looking for _you,_ dummy!" she said it like it was the most obvious thing. Deku's face lit up.

"M-me!? W-Why!?" he began stuttering.

 _"Because…!"_ Ochako's lips thinned, as her own face lit up, "I was worried about you…"

Deku's face grew even hotter, as he brushed off her worry.

"I-I'm fine! Perfect! 100% A-ok!" He spoke quickly, looking away.

"Are you sure?" Ochako glanced at his cast, and Deku stopped freaking, before smiling sadly.

"I'm positive. Just a lil' beat up, but nothing _too_ serious… heheh." Deku eased Ochako's worry as she smiled back.

"That's good…!" she replied, before looking away.

. . .

An awkward silence came between the two.

"Hey…" – "Um…!" Ochako and Deku blinked as they both talked at once. They both stiffened, their faces heating up again.

"O-Oh, did you have something to say, Deku…?" Ochako asked the boy—

"I _totally_ just forgot what I wanted to ask, so-please-go-ahead!" Deku was sweating, not able to handle the situation at all.

"O-okay…" Compared to Deku, Ochako wasn't faring much better.

With a deep breath, Ochako turned to Deku.

"Thank you for saving me… a-again!" she thanked the boy, and he blinked.

"Huh?" Izuku asked bluntly, as Ochako closed her eyes.

"Back when Bakugo got mad, you saw him trying to use his quirk against us." She began, and gained a sad look,

"I was stubborn, thinking that Bakugo wasn't going to do anything crazy… but I ended up being wrong." She brushed her hair back, "I only ended up causing you more trouble… Sorry bout that, by the way."

"Uraraka—" Deku tried to start, but stopped himself when she looked at him with a red face.

"But… despite that…!" she continued, flustered, "The way you handled that situation…!"

 _"Ochako." Deku suddenly spoke Ochako's first name, "Run away. Now!"_

 _"_ ** _BLACK HOLE! ! !"_** Using her idol's quirk, he ended up protecting her from the blast.

Something she will _never_ forget!

"You were so _cool,_ Deku…!" she praised the boy, with a big smile.

"C-c-c- _cool!?"_ Deku's mind went blank as his head blew out steam, and he slowly fell onto the soft grass.

"Ehehe…!" Ochako laughed at Deku's funny behavior… before her face fell a bit, holding a sad smile.

"Still," she looked at her hand, "I wish there was more I can do to help."

Deku snapped out of his funk, listening to Ochako,

"In times like those," Ochako recalled the Entrance Exam, and today, "I can't help but feel... _helpless_."

Deku suddenly remembered the new trick he learned from using **Zero Gravity,** and jumped up!

"That's right! I almost _forgot!_ " he exclaimed, almost surprising the girl.

"H-huh!?" Ochako blinked.

She watched as the boy got up and looked at her once again.

"Uraraka-san," He began, and she listened with a bit of interest, "I have to ask you something about your quirk!"

"Okay…?" she asked, feeling a bit out of touch. She was sure she covered everything about her quirk, back at the start of the test—

"Do you already know how to manipulate Gravity, using your quirk?" Deku asked. And Ochako looked at him, confused.

"Huh?" she spoke, before shaking her head, "What're you saying, Deku? Like, move gravity, or something?"

"Yeah! Stuff like pushing objects, with it's own gravity! Do you know how to do that?" Deku continued asking, and Ochako looked at him…

Before laughing awkwardly, "Ahaha… Deku, I don't know what you're talking about… **Zero Gravity** doesn't work like that…"

Despite her saying this, Deku looked even more excited, but then he looked at his currently out-of-order arms, "I can't do it myself for example… so that just means…" He mumbled, before looking around the courtyard for something.

Eventually he ran over, and picked up… a rock?

Deku ran back, holding the rock in his one, free hand, "Here! Use your quirk on this real quick!" he requested, and Ochako looked at him with uncertainty.

"…why?" Ochako simply asked, and Deku recoiled a little, before leaning to her.

"Do you trust me?" he simply asked.

Ochako looked back at him, then at the rock, and then she shrugged.

"Yeah, of course I do, Deku." She replied. Smiling, Izuku held forward the rock.

"Then, just this once, do what I say. I _promise_ this'll be worth your time." He requested, and Ochako sighed.

" _Okaaay."_ Ochako teased the boy, before slapping a hands worth of fingers on the small rock, making it weightless. Deku released his grip, and watched with mild amusement at how the rock simply floated in air.

Looking around, he noticed a fair-looking tree standing in the courtyard, all by itself. Deku pointed to it, "See that tree?"

"Yeah?" Ochako asked, starting to get curious at how this will turn out. Deku turned to face the girl.

"This is what you're going to do." He used his only free arm to make half-gestures, "First, you're gonna press all your fingers together, to make the 'Release' happen," the first set of instructions seemed familiar enough—

"Then, you're gonna _push_ out both of your hands, towards that tree!" Deku finished with a smile. Ochako stared at him with a bit of shock.

"What's _that_ going to do?" she simply asked, and Deku gave a huge grin.

"That," he spoke firmly, "will _shoot_ the rock, at the tree."

Ochako stared, before shaking her head, her original excitement lost, "That's not gonna happen, Deku—"

"You said you trust me, right, Uraraka-san?" Deku pushed just a little more, and Ochako bit her lip, "Please. Just do it _once._ "

"…Okay." Ochako replied, and Deku had a huge smile, as Ochako raised her hands slowly, "But this isn't going to work…"

"It will." Deku watched with baited anticipation, as he focused on the rock still floating.

Feeling Deku's confidence, she stepped into unknown territory.

 _Something that'll change her life forever…_

In a rather quick motion, she pressed her fingers together—

And pushed her hands out, "Release!—"

 ***Pwoom—Crack! ! !***

Ochako jumped at the sudden sound. She was prepared for a small thump as the rock would drop to the ground.

" _Holy—Wow!"_ Deku cheered, pumping his free hand into a fist, "That was _way_ more powerful than I thought!"

"Huh? What're you talking about, Deku?" Ochako asked with a small laugh, but noticed Deku pointed at the tree.

" _Look_ …!" Deku asked, and Ochako looked to where her target was.

The tree was still standing, nothing much changed there—

 _A huge crater of splintering wood was dotted on the middle of the tree._

"What the…?" Ochako felt something stir within her, "How did…?" she was full of half-asked questions.

"You ended up shooting the rock with such a force," Deku pointed to a rock which was sitting nearby the tree. _The same rock floating next to them,_ "That it cracked the wood on that tree!"

"I… did that…?" Ochako couldn't believe it!—

" _Yes_!" Deku spoke with excitement, as he tucked his arm close to his chest, " **Zero Gravity** has a _lot_ more to offer than what you had before, Uraraka-san! Thanks to you teaching me the quirk, I found this out…!"

"And I feel like, if we keep working on it," Deku closed his hand into a fist, with determination, "We could do **_so much more_** with your quirk, Uraraka-san!"

Ochako looked at the boy, and felt a memory crawl up to her.

 _A very, very young Ochako was reaching out to help her parents in any way she could._

 _"You want to help us, Ochako…?" her dad asked._

 _"When I grow up big, I want to help Mommy and Daddy!"_

 _"Okay… How about you grow up and be a really cool Hero!" her Dad spoke proudly. "When you make it big, you could send all three of us to Hawaii!"_

 _"Okay…!" she nodded, tears still in her eyes._

Remembering the memory, her eyes grew watery. Deku noticed and dropped his excitement.

"Uraraka-san?" he asked, worried. Ochako turned to face him.

"Hey, Deku… I got something personal to tell you…" she began, and a mild blush came up on his face.

'P- _Personal!?_ ' Deku gulped.

"O-okay, what is it, Uraraka-san?" Deku pushed her on, regardless of his thoughts.

"My parents…" she began, "Never wanted anything to do with their quirks."

"Huh?" Deku blinked, 'What does she mean by that? Do Uraraka-san's parents hate quirks or something?'

"They ended up getting relatively normal jobs because of it. I love them dearly, but," Ochako's eyes were shaky, Deku could see, "They didn't want me to use my quirk, if it could be avoided."

"Beginning to use my power was hard. If I felt nauseous, that was it. My parents didn't let me continue working with it." She continued, and Deku's surprise became empathy for her.

"Everything I learned, I taught myself as best I could." She nodded, and Deku smiled.

"There's nothing wrong with being self-taught, right, Deku?" she asked. Deku sighed.

"Of course, not… But," Cursing his luck on not bringing his Hero Notebook, Deku opted to use memory instead,

"Some of the best Pro Heroes got their ranks by learning from others! You can only be self-taught for so long, I believe."

Wishing he could draw some example, he opted to cut to the chase, "You offered me your quirk without any hesitation, Uraraka-san. Just for that… I'm incredibly grateful!"

Before she could brush it off, Deku continued, "But even before that, you've helped me out in so many ways… I feel like I want to pay you back somehow. That's why… something like this is _perfect_!"

"You've done so much for me, Uraraka-san." Deku turned to the girl, who was smiling, "Even for something like this, at least… _let me repay the favor_!"

She looked at the boy in silence, almost considering her options.

She _then_ looked at the tree, and at the damage she caused with **Zero Gravity..."**

Taking Deku's advice, she nodded. If she was going to become a Pro Hero, this was definitely her next step!

"Okay! You've convinced me, Deku-kun." Ochako, rubbing the tears out of her eyes, looked at the boy with determination,

"Teach me how to improve my quirk! _Please_!"

Izuku felt his hear soar, as he held out a fist.

"With _pleasure!"_

* * *

 _…_

* * *

A certain blond walked in his home, shutting the door with a resounding click.

"I'm home…" Bakugo muttered, not expecting a response.

"Welcome back, Katsuki." The boy looked up to his mom—

Her eyes were intense, as she looked at him with crossed arms.

His eyes slowly fell to the ground, away from his mom.

Seeing her usually-loud boy turn meek, like a scared puppy, she sighed.

"Come to the living room, Katsuki…" she walked ahead of him, catching the boy's attention.

"We have to talk…" Bakugo watched his mom turn with a glint in her eye, "About the Midoriyas."

 _That_ threw Katsuki off, as he felt anxiety grow in his chest.

 _It seemed like he wasn't allowed to forget about Deku just yet…!_

* * *

 **Next Time on** _ **My Hero Academia: Plus Ultra!**_

* * *

 _ **"You can copy quirks!?"**_ _The loudest of Class 1-A exclaimed. Izuku felt like he was going to faint from all the attention!_

 _"Who… told you…?" Izuku whispered, and felt a tug on his outfit._

 _Ochako clapped her hands together, "I ended up telling them all after the test! Sorry, Deku!"_

"Starting today, Bakugo Katsuki will no longer be in Class 1-A." Aizawa announced in an uninterested tone, "You all should know the reason, given you were present during All Might's Hero Training."

 _"What next, Deku?" Ochako was giddy, feeling like the world was on her fingertips—literally!_

 _"Next up, we're going to practice…" Tagging himself, he watched as he floated above the ground, "Flying!"_

"Learn from the mistakes of your Ex-Classmate, and try not to make a fool out of yourselves like he did." Aizawa looked at Izuku when he said this, and said boy looked back at him with an awkward smile.

 _"Oh! My!_ ** _GOD!"_** _Mina's voice was bubbily and light as she looked in front of her, "You look like my twin brother—If he had green hair and acted a-bit-like-a-nerd!" She said that last part super-quick._

 _"H-hey!?" Deku cried out, trying to observe himself as more of his skin turned pink. The sclera on Deku's eyes was dark grey, "What's that supposed to mean!?"_

 _"Hey, come here for a sec!" Mina ignored the boy's protests as she fished out a phone, "We have_ ** _got_** _to take a selfie together~!"_

"If none of you have any questions, then…" Aizawa racked up his papers and tapped it on his podium, "Class is dismissed."

Izuku, packing up his things albeit quickly, left his backpack near his desk as he got up. He turned to a student in the room, as he slowly got his things together as well.

With a small gulp, he mustered the courage to walk towards the student.

'If I'm going to end up asking him for his quirk, I gotta break the ice a bit first.' Deku thought calmly, but his anxiety was shooting through the roof—He was absolutely afraid of messing this up!

Taking some rather courageous steps, he ended up in front of the desk, and began talking.

"U-um, excuse me!" he began, a bit loudly, and the student passed him a glance, "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but… only now have I got the chance!"

The student slowly sat up straight, looking at the boy dead in the eye—which wasn't helping his anxiety in the slightest.

Still, though, Deku preservered!

"My name is Izuku! Can…" he held out his hand, and gave a gentle smile, "Can we talk for a bit?"

The student, **Meso Shoji,** looked down at the hand, then back up to the boy. Before he used his quirk to make another mouth.

"Sure." He simply replied, and shook the hand.

* * *

 **And… cut. I have** _ **finally**_ **reached the end of the chapter. And if you're reading this, you have, too… Welcome to the COOL KIDS CLUB.**

 **In all seriousness, I had a** _ **very**_ **hard time deciding where to cut this off, and ended up finding a spot halfway through the chapter.**

 **I wanted to finish the "Bakugo" Arc I've been making since Chapter 2—where the boy had been straight-up unreasonable to Izuku's sudden quirk, and had been enraged since his thunder was stolen.**

 **Clearly this had escalated to a point of no return, and thinking on the realistic side of thing, the school** _ **had**_ **to step in and make this big decision.**

 **Now… does this mean Bakugo will no longer appear in this fiction? No, you'll see him again during the Tournament Arc, with the rest of Class 1-B. After that, it's fair game.**

 **This** _ **does**_ **mean, as I hinted in the end, that Bakugo will have a significant change in attitude from hear on out. Sorry you guys had to deal with Teenager-Angst Bakugo for so long.**

 **More to come from here. I hope you guys stick around.**

 **Thanks a million for reading. See you soon!**

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Reverseflash:**

 **(Ch6):** Thanks for welcoming me back bud! I'm not necessarily going with any of the theories per se, but I _am_ presenting some sort of link with All for One, as I hinted at all the way in Ch. 2!

I'm trying to avoid doing something like taking another media's way of 'Copying Abilities', but the Heroes will definitely be something I'll check out for inspiration! Thanks for offering the idea!

 **(Ch7):** I'll definitely try to avoid disappearing like I have before—especially with a new season coming around the corner! Thanks for the compliment, too!

 **Ezylryb:** Thank you! I appreciate your review!

 **Trithanker:** Yeah, Ch. 7 is a bit on the short side, but it's definitely because I wanted to upload _something_ after my 2-Year break lol.

And definitely, but I don't want to go _too_ over the edge with expressing Bakugo and the other students. I still want to make this story believable after all!

Thanks for the review!

 **10burgers:** WOOOOOOOOO! And thank you! I'm glad you came back, too! I hope to entertain you for as long as you're here! Thanks for reviewing!

 **MIKE202303:** Thanks Mike, I missed you bud. Thanks a million for coming back! 3

 **Penguinrocks:** Your compliment warms my heart so, so much! Thank you for reading! I am very ambitious with this story and I definitely hope to keep you happy for as long as you're here! Please stay tuned!

 **Guest #1:** Honestly, me too. You guys surprised me with how positive the reception is! I hope to stay and entertain you guys for a while!

 **Zen-Aku The Spirit of the Wolf:** Woot! Glad you stopped by buddy!

 **2001:** Me too! Thank you so much for showing up! 3

 **D3lph0xL0v3r:** I WILL THANK YOU! Thank you so, so much for coming back bud! I promise I'll make it worth your time! Please stick around!

 **KahunaLagoona:** Thank you! I'm really trying to build this world as fast as possible, while making sure I don't make any mistakes in the process. I don't want to pull a retcon any time soon! Thank you for reading man!

 **ExplodingKnuckler:** I sure hope you stick around! It's only going to get crazier from here on out!

 **ILiekFishes: Trust me, I have a lot of making-up to do.** I'll be sure to do my best to update regularly. My Hero Academia has a hook on me that no other anime has, so having this world to work with is incredibly fun.

You have all the right to be angry, trust me! Criticism and Honest reviews have been some of the most helpful things I have received for my work, and it helps me grow. If you or anyone else spends the time talking about something I messed up on, **it means you care enough to let me know and help me improve!**

I'd rather have that than anyone drop the story and not give me a second chance! Thanks again for reviewing pal. Hope you stick around!

 **Fisorion:** Me too! Thanks a bunch for coming back as well~! I hope you stick around buddy!

 **Rusty Thebanite:** I think this chapter capitalizes on his misunderstanding of Izuku's quirk lmao. Thanks for reviewing!

 **uchihaNaruto247: Oh boy, you're on to something, aren't you!?** In all seriousness, that's in the late game as far as this story goes, but I plan on going into detail with Izuku's quirk as the story progresses, don't worry.

Seriously, some of you guys reading this are smart as hell. I gotta keep my A-game writing this before you guys end up predicting my story lmao!

 **Ooobserver:** Your compliment means a lot to me bud! I absolutely love character growth but I hope to keep a good balance between 'OP' and 'Just Normal Deku'—it's much harder than I'd like to admit.

And thank you for letting me know about how you feel regarding the rest of Class 1-A! If it seems out-of-character at any point, please let me know! I'd like to think I do a good job though!

 **Warrior mage 03:** Thank you!—And You're welcome! I definitely notice the other fics taking Villain route for sure. It's no doubt because of the nature of All for One, stealing quirks and rendering them useless.

Making this story and turning that thought has been a ton of fun for me, and I hope it's been just as fun for you reading it! Thank you for reviewing!

 **Anti-Mage 29: LOL!** I was stuck with college! I'm sorry! xd

 **Xpegasus: I saved you for last.** I figured I should make a bit of an announcement to those still reading: **If there's anyone to thank for bringing me back into writing this story,** it's most likely this guy.

Pegasus has kept tabs with me since my departure two years ago, trying to get a hold of me through twitter and on here. Safe to say I was stubborn till now.

He offers me helpful writing snippets and supports me. I honestly can't ask for a better guy like him.

Pegasus, thank you. I still owe you quite a bit, but just know I appreciate you (and all of you who read this story!) a lot. I wish you luck with your story too—which I haven't even finished yet lol, I'll be sure to do so soon!

Thank you. I value our friendship, and hope we keep working together in the future!

 **Thank you for reading!**


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